LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


977.365 

J72h 

v.l 


HISTORY  OF 


VERMILION  COUNTY 


ILLINOIS 


A  TALE  OF  ITS  EVOLUTION,  SETTLEMENT  AND 
PROGRESS  FOR  NEARLY  A  CENTURY 


By  LOTTIE  E.  JONES 

Author  of  "Decisive  Dates  in  Illinois  History" 


VOLUME  I 


ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO 

PIONEER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1911 


COPYRIGHT    1911 

BY 
LOTTIE  E.  JONES 


9  7  7-  3  c  s~    . 

Z'7  "^  ^  3" a.   H.I+  sv 

1 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  THIS  SECTION  BECAME  KNOWN  TO  THE  CIVILIZED 

WORLD. 

VERMILION    COUNTY    HAS    BEEN    IN    EXISTENCE    LESS    THAN    ONE    HUNDRED    YEARS 

BY    WHAT    NAMES    THE    COUNTRY    WAS    KNOWN    BEFORE    THIS    TIME WHESE 

FIND    EARLY    HISTORY   OF   ANY    SECTION    EAST   OF   THE    ALLEGHANY    MOUNTAINS 

COLONIES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN,  HOLLAND,   AND  SPAIN,  WHERE  LOCATED WHAT 

VALLEY EXPLORING     EXPEDITION     OF 

NOTICE  COVERS     THE     WABASH     VALLEY VER- 

: 5 

AFTER  CAREFUL  EXAMINATION  OF  THE 

INNER  MARGIN  AND  TYPE  OF  MATERIAL         n 

WE  HAVE  SEWN  THIS  VOLUME  BY  HAND 

SO  IT  CAN  BE  MORE  EASILY  OPENED  WHAT  IS  NOW  KNOWN   AS 

AND  READ.  ™*  ILLINOIS. 


. 


THE  AMERICAN   INDIAN THE  TWO  GREAT  NATIONS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  IROQUOIS THE  ALGONQUINS   THE  FRIEND  OF  THE   FRENCH 


THE   IROQUOIS    THE    FRIEND   OF  THE   BRITISH THE    MIAMI    CONFEDERACY THE 

ILLINI    NEARLY  RELATED  TO  THE  MIAMIS THE  PIANKESHAWS  A  TRIBE  OF  THE 

MIAMI     CONFEDERACY THE      HABITS     OF     THE      MIAMIS THE     PIANKESHAWS 

ALONG    THE    WABASH    RIVER THE    KICKAPOOS THEIR   VILLAGES    IN    THIS    SEC- 
TION  THE     PEACE     MEDAL THE     KICKAPOO     TREATIES THE     POTTOWATOMIES 

THE   LAST   TO    LEAVE  THIS   TERRITORY THE   REMOVAL    OF   THE   POTTOWATOMIES 

IN    1838 THE    PASSING    OF    THE    INDIAN 12 

j  CHAPTER  III. 

PIANKESHAW. 


DANVILLE  WAS  BUILT  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  OLD  INDIAN  VILLAGE  OF  PIANKESHAW — 

PIANKESHAW    AN     IMPORTANT     INDIAN     VILLAGE CHIPPECOKE,     THE    CAPITAL 

SEAT  OF  THE  PIANKESHAW ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  OF  THE  VERMILION  RIVER — 

EXTRACT    FROM    THE    JOURNAL    OF    GEORGE    CROGHAN AN    ENTRY    IN    M.    GAME- 

^  LIN'S     JOURNAL,    LOCATING    THE     VILLAGE    OF    PIANKESHAW POTTOWATOMIES 

TOLD  GURDON  HUBBARD  ABOUT  PIANKESHAW LIFE  OF  THE  DWELLERS  IN  PIAN- 
KESHAW  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  RACE  WHO  FIRST  LIVED  IN  DAN- 
VILLE  FRENCH  TRADERS  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY 24 


111 

192856 


COPYRIGHT  1911 

BY 

LOTTIE  E.  JONES 


97-7.  3cs~ 

• 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  THIS  SECTION  BECAME  KNOWN  TO  THE  CIVILIZED 

WORLD. 

VERMILION    COUNTY    HAS    BEEN    IN, EXISTENCE    LESS    THAN    ONE    HUNDRED    YEARS 

BY    WHAT    NAMES    THE    COUNTRY    WAS    KNOWN    BEFORE   THIS    TIME WHERE 

FIND    EARLY    HISTORY   OF   ANY    SECTION    EAST   OF   THE    ALLEGHANY    MOUNTAINS 

COLONIES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN,  HOLLAND,   AND  SPAIN,  WHERE  LOCATED WHAT 

NATION     DISCOVERED     THE     MISSISSIPPI      VALLEY EXPLORING     EXPEDITION     OF 

JOILET  AND  MARQUETTE LA  SALLE  DISCOVERS  THE  WABASH  VALLEY VER- 
MILION COUNTY  A  PART  OF  NEW  FRANCE '. 5 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ORIGINAL   PROPRIETORS   OF  WHAT   IS   NOW   KNOWN   AS 
VERMILION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

THE  AMERICAN   INDIAN THE  TWO  GREAT  NATIONS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

ORIGIN  OF  THE   IROQUOIS THE  ALGONQUINS  THE   FRIEND  OF  THE   FRENCH 

THE   IROQUOIS   THE    FRIEND   OF  THE   BRITISH THE    MIAMI    CONFEDERACY THE 

ILLIN1    NEARLY  RELATED  TO  THE  MIAMIS THE  PIANKESHAWS  A  TRIBE  OF  THE 

MIAMI     CONFEDERACY THE      HABITS     OF     THE      MIAMIS THE      PIANKESHAWS 

ALONG  THE  WABASH  RIVER — THE  KICKAPOOS THEIR  VILLAGES  IN  THIS  SEC- 
TION  THE  PEACE  MEDAL THE  KICKAPOO  TREATIES THE  POTTOWATOMIES 

THE   LAST   TO    LEAVE   THIS   TERRITORY THE   REMOVAL    OF   THE   POTTOWATOMIES 

IN    1838 THE    PASSING    OF    THE    INDIAN 12 

CHAPTER  III. 
PIANKESHAW. 

DANVILLE  WAS  BUILT  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  OLD  INDIAN  VILLAGE  OF  PIANKESHAW — 

PIANKESHAW    AN     IMPORTANT     INDIAN     VILLAGE CHIPPECOKE,     THE    CAPITAL 

SEAT  OF  THE  PIANKESHAW ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  OF  THE  VERMILION  RIVER — 

EXTRACT    FROM    THE    JOURNAL    OF    GEORGE    CROGHAN AN    ENTRY    IN    M.    GAME- 

LIN'S     JOURNAL,    LOCATING    THE     VILLAGE    OF    PIANKESHAW POTTOWATOMIES 

TOLD  GURDON  HUBBARD  ABOUT  PIANKESHAW LIFE  OF  THE  DWELLERS  IN  PIAN- 
KESHAW  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  RACE  WHO  FIRST  LIVED  IN  DAN- 
VILLE  FRENCH  TRADERS  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY 24 

iii 


192856 


iv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV. 
GOVERNMENT  OF  THIS  SECTION  PRIOR  TO  1819. 

HISTORY    OF    VERMILION    COUNTY    ANTEDATES    ITS    ORGANIZATION — FIRST    GOVERN- 
MENT, THAT  OF  FRANCE THE   PROVINCES  OF  CANADA OF  LOUISIANA:    WHERE 

WAS    THE    DIVIDING    LINE? THE    SEATS    OF    GOVERNMENT    FOR    DWELLERS    IN 

WHAT    IS    NOW    VERMILION    COUNTY A    PART    OF    THE    BRITISH    DOMAIN THE 

ILLINOIS    COUNTY    OF    VIRGINIA SEAT    OF    GOVERNMENT    AT    KASKASKIA THE 

NORTHWEST     TERRITORY;     SEAT     OF    GOVERNMENT,     MARIETTE,     OHIO INDIANA 

TERRITORY;     SEAT     OF     GOVERNMENT,     VINCENNES ILLINOIS     TERRITORY;     SEAT 

OF  GOVERNMENT,  KASKASKIA THE  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ILLINOIS VERMIL- 
ION COUNTY  A  PART  OF  SIX  DIFFERENT  COUNTIES,  WITH  AS  MANY  SEATS  OF 
GOVERNMENT  32 

CHAPTER  V. 
EXPLORING  THE  VERMILION  RIVER  FOR  SALT. 

INDIAN    TREATIES    DETERMINE    THE    EXPLORATION    OF    THE    VERMILION    RIVER    FOR 

SALT — SALT    THE    DEMAND    OF    THE    EARLY    igTH    CENTURY JOSEPH    BARRON'S 

KNOWLEDGE    OF    THE    SALT     SPRINGS    ON     THE    VERMILION THE     NORTH     ARM 

PRAIRIE  THE  NEAREST  INHABITED  SPOT SUPPOSED  ROUTE  OF  THE  FIRST  EXPLOR- 
ING PARTY KNOWN  ROUTE  OF  SECOND  EXPLORING  PARTY 36 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  VERMILION  SALINES. 

SALT   WAS  ANXIOUSLY   SOUGHT   BY   EARLY   EXPLORERS THE    SALINES  OF   SOUTHERN 

ILLINOIS SUPPOSED    TO     HAVE    BEEN     WORKED     BY    A     PREHISTORIC     PEOPLE — 

JOSEPH  BARRON,  FOR  MANY  YEARS  GOVERNOR  HARRISON'S  INTERPRETER,  VISITED 

THE  VERMILION   SALINES  IN    l8oi AGAIN  AT  THE  SAME  PLACE  IN    l8lp  WITH 

A  PARTY  TO  EXPLORE  IT  TO  AFTERWARD  WORK  THE  SPRINGS SECOND  EXPEDI- 
TION TO  THE  SPRINGS  ORGANIZED  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE  OF  BARRON LITTLE 

EVIDENCE  OF  ANY  PREVIOUS  ATTEMPT  TO  WORK  THE  SPRINGS  TO  PROFIT — 
BLACKMAN  TOOK  LEASE  IN  HIS  OWN  NAME DIFFERENCES  AMONG  CONFLICT- 
ING CLAIMANTS  SETTLED  IN  l822 JOHN  W.  VANCE  LEASED  THE  SALINES  IN 

1824  AND  WORKED  THEM  TO  PROFIT — EVIDENCES  OF  EARLY  USE  OF  SALINES.  .    4O 


CHAPTER  VII. 
UNITED  STATES  LAND  SURVEYS. 

PLAN  OF  SURVEY  OF  THE  EXTENSIVE  TERRITORIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES THE 

"HARRISON  PURCHASE" — THE  LATER  SURVEY 49 


CONTENTS  v 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
EARLY  MILITARY  INVASION  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

INVASION    BY    SPANISH    TROOPS OBJECT    OF    THIS    MARCH    ACROSS    THE    STATE    OF< 

ILLINOIS EVIDENCE     OF     THIS     COMPANY     OF     SOLDIERS     CROSSING     VERMILION 

COUNTY ILLINOIS  RANGERS THE   COMMAND  UNDER  GEN.   SAMUEL   HOPKINS 

GEN.   HOPKINS'  ARMY  A   BAND  OF  UNDISCIPLINED   MEN REGIMENT,   A   MOB   ON 

RETREAT CANNON  BALL  FOUND  IN  BLUFF  OF  MIDDLE  FORK  RIVER WHAT  DOES 

IT    PROVE  ? 53 

CHAPTER  IX. 
FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  WAS  MADE  AT  THE  SALT  SPRINGS THE  NEXT  WERE  MADE 

AT  BUTLER'S  POINT  AND  JOHNSON'S  POINT — BROOK'S  POINT — MORGAN'S — THE 
M'DONALD  NEIGHBORHOOD — YANKEE  POINT  AND  QUAKER  POINT — THE  LITTLE 

VERMILION VERMILION   AND  ELWOOD WALKER'S   POINT — DANVILLE;   WHEN 

SETTLED THE  LE  NEVE  SETTLEMENT SETTLEMENTS  ON  THE  MIDDLE  FORK  OF 

THE  BIG  VERMILION — MOTIVES  FOR  SETTLEMENTS DIRECTION  WHENCE  SET- 
TLERS CAME 57 

CHAPTER  X. 
TRAILS  AND  EARLY  ROADS. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  MODERN  ROAD FIRST  THE  BUFFALO,  THEN  THE  INDIAN,  THEN  THE 

PACK-HORSE — THE  DANVILLE  &  FORT  CLARK  ROAD — THE  OTTAWA  ROAD HUB- 

BARD'S  TRACE 63 

CHAPTER  XL 
PIONEER  LIFE  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

FOOD SHELTER CLOTHING EARLY        CONDITIONS       AND       CUSTOMS MEANS       OF 

TRAVEL SICKNESS — PROVINCIALISMS    66 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  ORIGIN  AND  EVOLUTION  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

COUNTY   ORGANIZATION    IN    ILLINOIS   DATES    BACK   TO    1779 — THE  COUNTY   OF  ILLI- 
NOIS  ST.   CLAIR  AND   RANDOLPH    AS   COUNTIES  OF   THE    NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

KNOX  COUNTY — KNOX  AND  ST.  CLAIR  COUNTIES MADISON  COUNTY ED- 
WARDS COUNTY CRAWFORD  COUNTY CLARK  COUNTY EDGAR  COUNTY VER- 
MILION COUNTY REDUCED  TO  PRESENT  LIMITS BELONGS  TO  SECOND  CLASS 

GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   COUNTY TOWNSHIP   ORGANIZATION;    WHEN    EFFECTED — 

ORIGIN   OF    NAME   OF   VERMILION    COUNTY 75 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

TOPOGRAPHY DRAINAGE  RELIEF  PRAIRIES RIDGES VALLEYS  GEOLOGY 

ROCKS     SELDOM      APPEAR     AT      SURFACE COAL-BEDS MORAINES — VERMILION 

COUNTY  BELONGS  TO  THE  ILLINOIS  GLACIAL  LOBE THE  CHAMPAIGN    MORAINES 

OIL   WELL   DUG   AT   DANVILLE    WATER-WORKS WELL  DUG    FOR    SAME    PURPOSE 

AT    DANVILLE     JUNCTION ALTITUDE — EXTREME     WEATHER     EXPERIENCED..    8O  .^ 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
EARLY  GROWTH. 

THE  FIRST  COMMISSIONERS'  COURT  AT  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  JAMES  BUTLER — AMOS 

WILLIAMS  APPOINTED  CLERK AT  THE  SECOND  MEETING  THE  COUNTY   WAS 

DIVIDED  INTO  TWO  TOWNSHIPS FIRST  GRAND  JURY WILLIAM  REED  APPOINTED 

ASSESSOR AT  NEXT  SESSION  CERTAIN  PROPERTY  WAS  TAXED COMMISSIONERS 

APPOINTED  TO  LOCATE  COUNTY  SEAT PROVISIONS  OF  THE  ACT  ESTABLISHING 

VERMILION  COUNTY LOCATION  OF  THE  COUNTY  SEAT  AT  THE  SALT  WORKS 

MAJOR  VANCE  REFUSED  TO  GIVE  UP  LEASE NEW  COMMISSIONERS  APPOINTED  TO 

LOCATE  COUNTY  SEAT DENMARK  DESIROUS  OF  ITS  LOCATION  THERE GUY  W. 

SMITH  AND  DAN  BECKWITH  GIVE  LAND  AT  MOUTH  OF  NORTH  FORK  OF  THE  VER- 
MILION RIVER PRESENT  LOCATION  SELECTED — LOTS  SOLD  APRIL  IO,  1827 NAME 

OF  THE  NEW  TOWN FIRST  PUBLIC  BUILDING  THE  STRAY  POUND FIRST  COURT 

HOUSE NEW  COURT  HOUSE  BEGUN  IN  1832 NAVIGATION  OF  THE  BIG  VER- 
MILION RIVER RAFTS  AND  FLAT-BOATS  CARRIED  PRODUCE  DOWN  THE  VERMILION 

RIVER CONDITION  OF  DANVILLE  AS  LATE  AS  1836 DENMARK NORTHEAST  PART 

OF  THE  COUNTY THE  FERRY  ACROSS  THE  BIG  VERMILION PRODUCE  HAULED  TO 

CHICAGO^ — COMMUNITY  OF  FRIENDS GROWTH  OF  DIFFERENT  SETTLEMENTS.  87 

CHAPTER  XV. 
SOME  OF  THE  MAKERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

SEYMOUR   TREAT DAN    BECKWITH FRANCIS    WHITCOMB — l82O HENRY    JOHN- 
SON  JAMES  D.  BUTLER HENRY  JOHNSON — I&2I ABSOLOM  STARR JOTHAM 

LYONS JOHN  JORDON WILLIAM  SWANK JOHN  MYERS HENRY  CANADAY 

BENJAMIN    BROOKS THOMAS  O'NEAL JOHN    HAWORTH ACHILLES    MORGAN 

HENRY    MARTIN 1&22 ROBERT    COTTON STEVEN    DUKES ASA    ELLIOTT — 

JOHN  MILLS ALEXANDER  MCDONALD 1.  R.  MOORES 1823 JOHN  LE  NEVE 

WILLIAM  M'DOWELL — 1824 — AARON  MENDENHALL — CYRUS  DOUGLASS — ROBERT 

DICKSON JOHN    SNIDER DR.    ASA    PALMER HEZEKIAH    CUNNINGHAM — ELI 

HENDERSON 1825 AMOS  WILLIAMS LEVI  B.  BABB 1826 WILLIAM  WATSON 

MICHAEL  WEAVER ABEL  WILLIAMS — SAMUEL  GILBERT  AND  SONS SAMUEL 

BAUM JOHN  LARRANCE WILLIAM  CURRENT ANDREW  PATTERSON — SAM- 
UEL COPELAND LARKIN  COOK ANDREW  JUVINALL SAMUEL  SCONE WIL- 
LIAM JONES WILLIAM  WRIGHT JAMES  GRAVES JAMES  BARNETT JOHN 

CHANDLER ABSOLOM    COLLISON JOSEPH    SMITH SAMUEL    CAMPBELL OTHO 


CONTENTS  vii 

ALLISON JAMES        DONOVAN WILLIAM         BANDY JAMES        SMITH WILLIAM 

BLAKENEY CHARLES  S.  YOUNG CHARLES  CARAWAY LATHAM  FOLGER WIL- 
LIAM CUNNINGHAM WILLIAM  CURRENT JAMES  ELLIOTT JOHN  D.  G.  CLINE 

JOHN    JOHNS JOHN    COX EPHRIM    AGREE ADAM    PATE 98 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
INDIAN  WARS  AS  AFFECTING  THIS  SECTION. 

INDIANS  DID  NOT  ANNOY  EARLY  SETTLERS PASSING  OF  THE  INDIAN  TO  THE  NORTH 

AND  NORTHWEST HABITAT  OF  THE  WINNEBAGOES INDIGNITIES  ON  THE  WIN- 

NEBAGOES  BY  THE  WHITE  MEN THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR — GURDON 

HUBBARD'S  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR — HEZEKIAH  CUNNINGHAM'S 

NARRATIVE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR — THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR THE  POTTA- 

WATOMIES  DID  NOT  CONTEMPLATE  THE  CAPTURE  OF  FORT  DEARBORN  IN  1832 

PART  TAKEN  BY  THE  CITIZENS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  IN  THE  BLACK  HAWK 
WAR COLONEL  PAYNE'S  BLOCK  HOUSE 139 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  THIRTIES  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

THE  PERMANENT  COURT  HOUSE WILLIAM   MILLIKANS'  CARDING  MILL  BUILT 

FIRST  LOG  MEETING  HOUSE  BUILT OPENING  OF  A  ROAD  FROM  FORT  CLARK 

NEWCOMERS  TO  VERMILION  COUNTY  IN  1830 REVIVAL  IN  THE  INTERESTS  OF 

MORMANISM LAND  OFFICE CONGRESS  PETITIONED  TO  GRANT  STRIP  OF  LAND 

BETWEEN  CHICAGO  AND  VINCENNES  FOR  RAILROAD NEWCOMERS  TO  VER- 
MILION COUNTY  IN  1831 PENNSYLVANIA  HOUSE  BUILT FIRST  NEWSPAPER 

STARTED  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY GOSHEN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  ORGANIZED POS- 
TAL ROUTE  ESTABLISHED  FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VINCENNES NEWCOMERS  TO  VER- 
MILION COUNTY  IN  1832 BRADY  BRANCH  CORNCRACKER NEWCOMERS  IN 

1837 EXODUS  TO  WISCONSIN   LEAD   MINES NEWCOMER   IN    1834 CHARTER 

FOR  C.  &  V.  R.  R. CHARTER  SECURED  FOR  NORTH  CROSS  R.  R. NEWCOMERS  IN 

1835 — KIRKPATRICK'S  MILL  ON  STONY  CREEK — KYGER'S  MILL  BUILT — STATE 

BANK  CHARTERED NEWCOMERS  IN   1836 AMOS  WILLIAM'S  MILL SAWMILL 

FIRST  STEAM  SAWMILL R.  R.  GRADED  THROUGH  VANCE  TOWNSHIP POSTAL 

ROUTE  FROM  DANVILLE  TO  SPRINGFIELD  VIA  DECATUR POSTAL    ROUTE    FROM 

DANVILLE  TO  OTTAWA POSTAL   ROUTE   FROM   INDIANAPOLIS   TO  DANVILLE 

NEWCOMERS  IN  1837 GRADING  ROADBED  FROM  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY  EAST 

SHEPHERD'S  MILL — VERMILION  RAPIDS  PLATTED — NEWCOMERS  IN  1838 — SAW- 
MILL NORTHWEST  OF  ALVAN NEWTOWN  LAID  OUT CHRISTMAN  MILL NEW- 
COMERS OF  1839 148 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
MEN  AND  EVENTS  FROM  1840  TO  1860  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

NEW   COMERS    IN    1840 REV.    ASHMORE's   WORK O.   L.    DAVIS    CAME  TO    VERMILION 

COUNTY    IN    1841 HENSON   VINSON NEW    COMERS    IN    1842   AND    1843 — JOHN 

L.    TINCHER — DR.     SAMUEL    HUMPHREY NEW    COMERS    IN     1844    AND     1845 — 


viii  CONTENTS 

WILLIAM    I.    ALLEN SAMUEL    H.    VREDENBURGH,    M.    D. OLIVE    BRANCH    LODGE 

ORGANIZED FIRST     BRASS      BAND NEW      COMERS     IN      1846     AND     1847 NEW 

COMERS    IN     1848    AND    1849 DANVILLE    SEMINARY    INCORPORATED    IN     1850 

CHAS.       WOLVERTON ODD       FELLOWS'       CHARTER — HIGGINSVILLE       POST-OFFICE 

ESTABLISHED VERMILION     COUNTY     AGRICULTURAL     AND     MECHANICAL     ASSO- 
CIATION  UNION   SEMINARY  ORGANIZED NEW   COMERS  OF   1850,   '5!    AND  '$2 

VERMILION    COUNTY   AGRICULTURAL   SOCIETY THOS.    HOOPES J.    G.    ENGLISH 

NEW    COMERS    IN     1853,    '54    AND    '55 NEW    CITY    CHARTER    FOR    DANVILLE 

NEWELL  HORSE  COMPANY H.   M.  KIMBALL A.  C.  DANIEL RAYMOND  W.  HAN- 
FORD CHAS.    W.    KEESLER JAMES   KNIGHT JOHN    BEARD A.   H.    KIMBROUGH, 

M.    D. NEW     COUNTY    VOTED    DOWN NEW    COMERS     IN     1856,    '57    AND    '58 

FARMERS  AND  MECHANICS   INSTITUTE VOTE  ON   FORMING  FORD  COUNTY NEW 

COMERS JOHN    SIDELL 172 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
VERMILION   COUNTY  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

PUBLIC    SENTIMENT    IN    i860 VOLUNTEERS    TO    THE    SERVICE REGIMENT    FORMED 

FROM    VERMILION    COUNTY     MEN     WHOLLY    OR    IN    PART WHAT    THE    WOMEN 

DID — NEWCOMERS    FROM     i860    TO     1864 RIOTS     IN      DANVILLE     DURING     THIS 

TIME 197 

CHAPTER  XX. 
AFTER  THE  WAR 

CONDITIONS    FOLLOWING    THE    CIVIL    WAR NEW    COMERS    IN    THE    DECADE    IMME- 
DIATELY   AFTER   THE    CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR BUILDING    OF    TOWNS    AND    CITIES 

PROGRESS  IN  THE  NORTHERN  PART  OF  THE  COUNTY DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATURAL 

RESOURCES    2l8 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
SOME  ELDER  SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

JAMES  O'NEAL  CLAIMS  TO  BE  FIRST  WHITE  CHILD  OF  WHITE  CHILDREN — MRS. 
ELIZABETH    ( MCDONALD)    HARMON,    ONE  OF  THE   FIRST    WHITE    CHILDREN 

BORN  IN  VERMILION   COUNTY JAMES  O'NEAL,   BORN   IN   l822 MARY    (COX) 

PATTERSON,    BORN    IN    1823 WILLIAM    P.    SWANK,    BORN    IN    1824 PERRY 

O'NEAL,  BORN  IN  1825 — JAMES  H.  STEVENS,  BORN  IN  1826 — D.  B.  DOUGLASS 
AND  RHODA  M.  HESTER,  BORN  IN  1827 ABNER  SNOW,  S.  P.  LCNEVE  AND  AN- 
DREW GUNDY,  BORN  IN  1828 SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS  OF  1829 OF  1830 OF 

1831 OF  1832 OF  1833 OF  1834 OF  1835 OF  1836 OF  1837 OF  1838 

HENRY  FLETCHER  AND  LIZZIE  (LOVE)  PAINTER,  BORN  IN  1839 SONS  AND 

DAUGHTERS  OF  1840 OF   184! OF   1842 OF   1843 OF  1844 OF   1845 OF 

1846 — OF  1847 — °F  Z848 — OF  1849 228 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
AGRICULTURAL  INTERESTS. 

CATTLE      RAISING HORSE      BREEDING SWINE FRUIT      GROWING CORN      PRODUC- 
TION  SHEEP     INDUSTRY 2OO 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
FAMOUS  FARMS. 

PILOT  GROVE  FARM FAIRVIEW THE  MANN  FARMS THE  ALLERTON  FARM.  .275 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
EARLY  MILLS  AND  MILLING. 

FIRST   CORNCRACKER   MILL   WAS   MADE  BY   JAMES  BUTLER   IN    1823 THE   GILBERT'S 

MILL,    BUILT   IN    1828   AT   DANVILLE — MILL   ON    THE    SALT    FORK,    1826 SHEP- 
HERD'S    MILL — BRAZELTTON'S    MILL — WHITSILL'S   AND   HOWARD'S    MILLS   ON 

THE  MIDDLE  FORK THE   HIGGINSVILLE    MILL KIRKPATRICK's    MILL THE  OLD 

KYGER    MILL AMOS   WILLIAM'S    MILL THE    HALE-GALUSHU    SAWMILL STEAM 

SAWMILL    AT    DANVILLE THE     WRIGHT-COOK  FORD    SAWMILL — THE    HAWORTH 

MILL THE    MENELY    MILL THE    MYERSVILLE    MILL — THE    MILL    AT    ALVIN 

THE    JAMES    GEORGE    MILL    AT     MIDDLE    FORK THE    JENKIN's     MILL    ON    THE 

VERMILION THE  OLD  WOOLEN    MILL THE  STEAM   MILL  AT  GEORGETOWN   BUILT 

IN    1850 — THE   AMBER    MILL — DOUGHERTY    MILL    AT    FAIRMOUNT— THE    WOOD'S 

MILL  ON   THE   NORTH    FORK THE  LUSTRO    MILL   AT   DANVILLE — THE  DANVILLE 

MILL THE   GARLAND    STEAM    STONE   SAWMILL 284 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
MANUFACTURING   INTERESTS 297 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
EARLY  MERCHANTS. 

INDIAN  TRADERS FIRST  MERCHANTS GURDON  S.   HUBBARD — BECKWITH  &  CLYMAN 

— FIRST   MERCHANTS  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  PART  OF  THE  COUNTY 3OO 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
FIRST  BANKS  AND  BANKING  INTERESTS 305 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BUILDING  ASSOCIATIONS 307 

• 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
THE  PROFESSION  OF  MEDICINE  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY 309 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
THE  BENCH  AND  BAR—  THE  FEDERAL  COURT  ..................  315 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCATION 

FIRST  SCHOOL  IN  THE  COUNTY  -  HIRAM  TINCNOR'S  SCHOOL  —  SCHOOL  IN  NEWELL 
TOWNSHIP  —  HOW  A  SCHOOL  WAS  ESTABLISHED  -  ELISHA  HOBBS  -  VERMILION 
SEMINARY  —  ONE  OF  THE  FIRST  SCHOOLS  IN  DANVILLE  -  THE  DANVILLE  ACADEMY 

-  THE  GEORGETOWN   SEMINARY  -  THE  DANVILLE  SEMINARY  -  THE  UNION    SEMI- 
NARY -  SEMINARIES    GIVE    PLACE    TO    THE    PUBLIC    SCHOOL  —  SCHOOLS    IN    OAK- 
WOOD  TOWNSHIP  -  SCHOOLS    IN    PILOT  TOWNSHIP  -  SCHOOL   AT   DENMARK  -  THE 
LAMB    SCHOOL  -  THE    CUNNINGHAM    SCHOOL  -  EARLY    SCHOOLS    IN    DANVILLE  - 
AMOS    WILLIAMS    BUILDS    A    SCHOOL    HOUSE  —  JAMES    DAVIS  -  MRS.    CROMWELL  - 
THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  VERMILION   COUNTY  -  PRIVATE  SCHOOLS  ..........  326 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
THE  DANVILLE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

DATE  OF  ORGANIZATION  -  OFFICERS  AND  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  —  THE  CULBERTSON 
LIBRARY  -  REV.  JAMES  W.  COE,  FIRST  LIBRARIAN  -  LOCATIONS  —  BUILDING  - 
CIRCULATION  -  CLASSIFIED  CONTENTS  IN  IQIO  ..........................  338 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
CHURCHES  AND  MINISTERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  -  THE  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  -  THE 
UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  -  THE  METHODIST  CHURCH  -  THE  BAPTIST 
CHURCH  -  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  -  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  -  THE  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH  -  THE  UNITED  BRETHREN  CHURCH  -  THE  GERMAN  UNITED  BRETHERN 

-  THE    GERMAN    LUTHERAN  —  THE    GERMAN     METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH  — 
THE     ROMAN      CATHOLIC     CHURCH  -  THE     SOCIETY     OF     FRIENDS  -  THE     OTHER 
CHURCHES  -  THE    MORMONS  -  THE    CHRISTIAN    SCIENTISTS  ................  342 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
THE  VERMILION  COUNTY  PRESS  ................................  359 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
TRANSPORTATION  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY  ...................  .61 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
THE  POSTOFFICE  IN  DANVILLE  ..................................  367 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
THE  NATIONAL  HOME  FOR  DISABLED  VOLUNTEER  SOLDIERS.  369 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
THE  G.  A.  R 37i 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
THE  WOMAN'S  CLUBS  IN  DANVILLE 372 

CHAPTER  XL. 
THE  D.   A.   R 374 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
COAL  AND  COAL  MINES 375 

CHAPTER  XLII. 
ABANDONED  TOWNS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 378 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 
A  FEW  OLD  BURYING  GROUNDS. 

THE    MT.    PISGAH    BURYING    GROUND THE    DALBEY    BURYING    GROUND THE    VER- 
MILION GROVE  BURYING  GROUND THE  GUNDY   BURYING   GROUND 382 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
HEROES  AND  DISTINGUISHED  PEOPLE. 

J.  G.   CANNON W.   J.   CALHOUN J.   W.   WILKIN MRS.    MARY    HARTWELL   CATHER- 

\VOOD HIRAM    W.     BECKWITH GURDON     HUBBARD SAMUEL     M'ROBERTS REV. 

JAMES    ASHMORE HARVEY    SOWDOWSKY RT.    REV.    VICAR    GENERAL   O'REILLY — 

COL.    O.    F.    HARMON J.    C.   DAVIS MICHAEL    KELLEY 389 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
TOWNSHIPS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

FIRST    DIVISION    OF    THE    COUNTY PRECINCTS    UNDER    COMMISSIONERS'     SYSTEM 

TOWNSHIP    ORGANIZATION CHANGES   IN    BOUNDARIES DANVILLE    TOWNSHIP 

GEORGETOWN      TOWNSHIP ELWOOD      TOWNSHIP CARROLL      TOWNSHIP VANCE 

TOWNSHIP MIDDLEFORK      TOWNSHIP PILOT      TOWNSHIP ROSS      TOWNSHIP 

NEWELL  TOWNSHIP BLOUNT  TOWNSHIP CATLIN  TOWNSHIP GRANT  TOWN- 
SHIP  BUTLER  TOWNSHIP OAKWOOD  TOWNSHIP SIDELL  TOWNSHIP JA- 
MAICA TOWNSHIP LOVE  TOWNSHIP 392 


HISTORY  OF 

VERMILION  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  THIS  SECTION  BECAME  KNOWN  TO  THE  CIVILIZED 

WORLD. 

VERMILION    COUNTY    HAS    BEEN    IN     EXISTENCE    LESS    THAN    ONE    HUNDRED    YEARS 

BY    WHAT    NAMES    THE    COUNTRY    WAS    KNOWN    BEFORE    THIS    TIME WHERE 

FIND    EARLY    HISTORY   OF   ANY    SECTION    EAST   OF   THE    ALLEGHANY    MOUNTAINS 

COLONIES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN,   HOLLAND,   AND  SPAIN,  WHERE  LOCATED WHAT 

NATION     DISCOVERED     THE     MISSISSIPPI     VALLEY EXPLORING     EXPEDITION     OF 

JOILET     AND     MARQUETTE LA  SALLE     DISCOVERS     THE     WABASH     VALLEY VER- 
MILION   COUNTY  A   PART   OF   NEW    FRANCE. 

Vermilion  County,  as  such,  has  been  known  less  than  a  hundred  years. 

The  territory  now  known  as  Vermilion  County  had  been  recognized  by  the 
civilized  world  as  a  part  of  variously  named  lands  for  a  century  and  a  half  pre- 
vious to  its  organization  as  a  county  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois. 

First  it  was  as  a  part  of  the  "Country  of  the  Illini,"  or  maybe  the  "Valley  of 
the  Oubache;"  then,  successively  as  the  "Illinois  Country,"  "New  France,"  the 
"British  Domain,"  the  "Illinois  County  of  Virginia,"  "the  Northwest  Territory," 
the  "Indiana  Territory,"  the  "Illinois  Territory"  and  at  last,  as  a  county  of  the 
state  of  Illinois. 

Each  name  involves  a  different  story,  and  although  permanent  occupation  by 
the  white  man  did  not  begin  until  after  it  became  a  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois, 
yet  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  Vermilion  County,  must  be  sought  in  the 
beginning  of  the  history  of  the  territory  of  which  it  is  a  part. 

The  account  of  the  beginning  of  any  section  of  the  United  States,  east  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  is  sought  in  the  founding  of  Jamestown,  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  Rock,  the  discovery  of  the  great  river  by  Henry  Hudson, 
or,  it  may  be,  the  building  of  old  St.  Augustine. 


6  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

A  study  of  the  lives  and  service  of  John  Winthrop,  William  Bradford,  Capt. 
John  Smith,  Jacob  Eelkin,  and  William  Penn,  becomes  imperative  that  necessary 
sidelights  be  thrown  upon  the  picture  of  any  locality  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 
lAkid  behind  these  lives,  the  influence  of  their  old  homes,  whence  they  had 
emigrated,  lies  strong,  so  that  their  story  must  include  the  tale  of  Great  Britain, 
Holland,  and  even  Spain  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Such  is  not,  however, 
the  necessity  in  investigating  the  beginnings  of  the  history  of  any  section  in  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Early  explorations  and  settlements  did  not  come  from  the 
nations  which  colonized  the  eastern  coast.  It  was  a  century  after  the  Mississippi 
was  known  to  the  white  man  before  Great  Britain,  Holland,  or  Spain  knew  much 
of  its  fertile  valley.  A  different  nation  than  any  of  these  discovered,  explored, 
and,  in  a  way,  colonized  this  section,  and  claimed  it  for  its  own. 

When  Columbus  discovered  the  new  world,  in  the  last  decade  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  pope  decreed  that  Spain  should  have  possession  as  far  as  forty 
degrees  north  latitude.  Now  Columbus  did  not  discover  the  mainland  of  the 
continent ;  that  honor  was  left  to  the  Englishman,  John  Cabot,  a  few  years  later. 
Consequently,  Great  Britain  claimed  the  western  continent.  The  king  of  Great 
Britain,  being  a  Protestant,  ignored  the  claim  made  by  Spain  because  of  the 
authority  of  the  pope,  and  made  a  grant  of  land  in  America  to  the  London 
company,  which  included  six  degrees  already  accorded  the  other  nation  by  papal 
decree. 

All  grants  of  land  in  America  made,  stated  that  the  territory  included  between 
the  two  oceans  was  given,  yet  neither  the  king  who  made  them  nor  the  men  who 
received  them,  had  correct  ideas  of  the  extent  of  the  territory.  The  Alleghany 
mountains  presented  a  barrier  which  time  and  exploration  alone  could  level  and 
show  the  extent  of  country  beyond.  Great  Britain  busied  herself  building  homes 
and  establishing  institutions  in  New  England  and  Virginia;  Holland  contented 
herself  with  the  strip  of  country  along  the  Hudson  river,  for  a  century  and  more, 
unconscious  of  the  possibilities  of  the  country  beyond  the  mountains;  Spain 
had  been  active  in  exploring  the  new  world,  but  her  object  being  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  of  itself,  defeated  any  permanent  possession  of  the  land. 

During  the  sixteenth  century  Spain  discovered,  conquered,  and  might  have 
to  some  extent  colonized,  a  large  portion  of  inland  America.  Indeed,  she  laid 
claim  to  the  vast  domain  from  Colorado  to  Buenos  Ayres,  extending  from  sea 
to  sea.  Her  insatiate  search  for  gold  made  her  push  to  the  north  and  northwest, 
leaving  fertile  plains  for  the  Rocky  mountains  which  might  hold  the  coveted 
treasure.  This  was  the  direction  of  colonization  of  America  by  three  of  the 
great  powers  of  Europe,  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century:  Great 
Britain  on  a  strip  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  Holland  along  the  Hudson  river,  and 
Spain  in  South  America,  Mexico,  New  Mexico,  and  toward  the  Pacific  coast. 

France  was  a  powerful  nation  of  Europe  at  that  time.  She  was  neither 
disinterested  nor  idle  in  her  explorations  of  the  New  World.  Catholic  France 
recognized  the  claim  of  Spain  because  of  the  decree  of  the  pope,  to  forty  degrees 
north  latitude,  and  so  directed  her  explorations  north  of  that  limit.  Thus 
France  discovered  and  profited  by  the  valuable  fisheries  and  fur  trade  of  the 
north.  In  1534  Jacques  Cartier  discovered  the  St.  Lawrence  river.  This  gave 
France  a  valid  claim  to  it.  Early  in  the  next  century,  Samuel  de  Champlain 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  7 

established  New  France  there,  by  building  Quebec.  Two  motives  combined  to 
further  the  extension  of  New  France;  one  was  the  wealth  in  the  fur  trade  and 
the  other,  the  religious  zeal  of  the  Frenchman  and  his  love  for  his  church.  The 
common  spirit  of  the  times  was  a  love  of  adventure.  This  spirit  took  the  hardy 
Frenchman  further  and  further  into  the  wilderness,  even  to  the  region  of  the 
Great  Lakes.  Wherever  the  explorer  and  trader  went,  he  was  accompanied  by 
the  priest,  so  that  by  a  little  after  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  missions 
were  established  as  far  west  as  Lake  Superior. 

In  about  1634,  Jean  Nicolet  was  sent  upon  an  embassy  from  Quebec  to  the 
Winnebago  Indians  near  the  heart  of  Green  Bay,  to  secure  their  trade.  Thirty- 
seven  years  later,  Sieur  de  St.  Lusson  Jean  Talon,  the  Intendent  of  New  France, 
through  his  deputy,  formally  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  France, 
of  "Sainte  Marie  du  Sault,  as  also  Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  the  Manitoulin 
Islands,  and  all  the  countries,  lakes,  rivers  and  streams  contiguous  or  adjacent 
thereto."  In  this  way  New  France  extended  westward  and  as  a  matter  of  course 
it  fell  to  France  to  discover  and  explore  the  Mississippi  river ;  that  great,  as  yet, 
unknown  waterway  which  ran  through  the  heart  of  'the  continent,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  find  the  promising  country  of  the  Illini. 

Although  some  knowledge,  more  or  less  vague,  of  the  great  river  came  to  the 
missionaries  and  traders  who  had  penetrated  the  wilderness,  there  was  little 
definite  information  concerning  it  until,  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  his 
superior  while  in  charge  of  the  mission  at  Chequamegon  Bay  in  1668,  Father 
James  Marquette  made  mention  of  it.  This  letter  was  written  from  the  mission 
called  La  Point  du  Esprit,  or  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is  preserved  in  the 
Jesuit  Relations  for  1669  and  1670,  and  reads  in  part  as  follows:  "When  the 
Illini  came  to  the  Point  (meaning  to  Chequamegon  Bay  where  these  Indians 
came  to  trade)  they  passed  a  great  river  which  is  almost  a  league  in  width. 
It  flows  from  north  to  south  and  is  so  great  a  distance  that  this  tribe,  who  know 
little  of  the  use  of  the  canoe,  have  never  as  yet,  heard  of  its  mouth.  *  *  * 
"It  is  hardly  probable  that  this  great  river  discharges  itself  in  Virginia.  We  are 
more  inclined  to  believe  that  it  has  its  mouth  in  California."  The  report  of  a 
great  waterway,  as  yet  unknown  to  the  civilized  world,  came  at  a  time  when  the 
idea  of  a  direct  and  quick  route  to  the  Indies  had  not  been  abandoned.  That  this 
unknown  waterway  might  be  the  coveted  connection  with  the  far  East,  was 
probably  the  great  incentive  to  the  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  river  at  this 
time.  The  government  at  Paris  and  at  Quebec  decided  that  the  exploration  should 
be  delayed  no  longer.  To  this  end,  Sieur  Louis  Joliet  was  commissioned  to  go 
upon  this  expedition  and  Father  Dablon  appointed  Father  Jacques  Marquette, 
the  zealous  priest  at  the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  accompany  him.  It  was 
not  a  large  expedition  so  far  as  numbers  constitute  size,  which  was  sent.  Two 
canoes  were  manned,  each  with  an  Indian  oarsman  and  taking  an  Indian  guide, 
these  two  Frenchmen  set  out  to  explore  the  unknown  river.  Courage  and  zeal 
were  needed  for  this  undertaking,  and  the  two  men  chosen  were  indeed  brave 
and  zealous. 

A  letter  written  by  Count  Frontenac,  Governor  of  Quebec,  to  M.  Colbert, 
Minister  of  the  Navy  at  Paris,  described  Sieur  Louis  Joliet  as  a  man  of  great 
experience  in  these  sorts  of  discoveries,  who  already  has  been  almost  to  that 


8  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

river,  the  mouth  of  which  he  promises  to  see.  Joliet  had  previous  to  this  time 
made  several  discoveries,  among  them  being  that  of  Lake  Erie.  Louis  Joliet 
was  a  man  of  much  learning,  having  been  educated  for  a  priest ;  but  his  lore  of 
adventure  had  proven  stronger  than  his  love  of  study  and  his  interest  in  the 
life  and  affairs  of  the  Indian  deeper  than  either,  so  that  life  in  the  wilderness 
had  lured  the  monk  from  the  cloister. 

Father  Jacques  Marquette,  the  devout  and  zealous  priest,  makes  his  own 
record,  that  upon  receiving  his  appointment  to  accompany  Joliet  he  was  "enrap- 
tured at  the  good  news  of  seeing  my  design  on  the  point  of  being  accomplished, 
and  myself  in  the  happy  necessity  of  exposing  my  life  for  the  salvation  of  all 
these  nations,  and  particularly  for  the  salvation  of  the  Illini  who  had  very 
earnestly  entreated  me  to  carry  the  word  of  God  to  their  country." 

These  "Illini"  were  among  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  who  traded  at 
the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  Lake  Superior,  of  which  Father  Marquette 
had  charge  as  he  wrote  concerning  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  to  this  religious 
fervor  that  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river  is  indebted  for  being  made  known  to  the  civilized  world  at  this  time.  It 
is  true  that  the  interests  of  trade  determined  this  expedition  to  a  great  extent, 
yet  it  would  hardly  have  been  accomplished  had  it  not  been  for  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  men  to  carry  the  privileges  of  their  church  to  the  benighted  heathen. 

The  devout  priest  who  was  seeking  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  the  redmen 
to  the  glory  of  his  church,  had  braved  every  personal  danger  in  pushing  across 
the  wilderness  to  the  Great  Lakes,  and  it  was  one  of  these  men  who  says  he 
"was  enraptured  at  the  opportunity  for  'exposing  his  life'  in  this  continued 
service." 

Unlike  any  other  country,  America  has  been  conquered  by  the  cross,  rather 
than  the  sword.  Freedom  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his 
conscience  brought  the  Puritan  to  the  eastern  coast ;  a  desire  to  save  the  souls  of 
the  native,  led  the  Jesuit  priests  into  the  wilderness  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Joliet  and  Marquette  met  at  the  Mission  of  St.  Ignatius,  at  Michilimakinac. 
Marquette  had  two  years  previous  to  this  time  established  this  Mission  of  St. 
Ignatius.  It  was  not  on  the  Island  of  Mackinac,  but  on  the  point  of  land  west 
of  the  island,  extending  from  the  north  shore  into  the  strait.  The  place  is  now 
called  Point  St.  Ignace.  Here  the  two  men  made  ready  for  their  journey.  On 
May  17,  1673,  they  left  the  Mission  of  St.  Ignatius  and  crossed  Lake  Michigan 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Fox  river.  Ascending  this  stream  as  far  as  it  was  navigable, 
they  carried  their  canoes  across  to  the  Wisconsin  river.  This  carrying  place,  or 
portage  as  the  French  called  it,  is  now  marked  by  Portage  City,  in  Wisconsin. 
Rowing  down  the  Wisconsin  river  this  little  party  found  themselves  entering 
the  Mississippi  river — the  first  white  men  upon  the  upper  waters  of  the  mighty 
stream.  Their  delight  is  told  by  Marquette  in  his  Journal  as  "a  joy  I  can  not 
express." 

De  Soto  had  discovered  the  Mississippi  river  near  its  mouth,  one  hundred 
and  thirty  odd  years  before  this  time,  but  as  yet  Spain  had  neglected  to  take 
advantage  of  the  discovery.  Joliet  and  Marquette,  with  their  Indian  oarsmen  and 
guide,  explored  the  river  to  within  a  ten  days'  journey  of  its  mouth,  encountering 
various  adventures.  When  they  reached  a  point  at  about  a  league  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  9 

mouth  of  the  Arkansas  river,  they  were  satisfied  with  what  they  had  learned 
about  the  great  waterway  and  retraced  their  steps.  They  had  found  that  the 
Mississippi  river  did  not  lead  through  Virginia  nor  yet  into  California,  but 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  They  had  also  satisfied  themselves  that  it  was  not  the 
much  sought  quick  way  to  the  Orient. 

Returning  up  the  Mississippi,  Marquette  became  too  ill  to  proceed,  so  they 
left  their  boats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.  Taking  the  advice  of  the 
natives  when  they  were  ready  to  continue  their  journey,  they  took  the  quicker 
route,  going  up  that  river.  This  change  in  their  plans  brought  them  within  the 
boundaries  of  what  is  now  the  state  of  Illinois.  The  coming  into  this  territory 
is  the  beginning  of  authentic  history  of  the  commonwealth  of  which  Vermilion 
County  is  a  part.  Marquette  makes  record  of  this  journey  up  the  Illinois  river  by 
saying- :  "We  had  seen  nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  its  land,  its 
prairies,  wood,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  swan,  ducks,  parrots  and  even  beaver; 
its  many  lakes  and  rivers." 

The  vast  stretch  of  prairie  over  which  the  eye  roamed  to  the  sky  line,  with  its 
waving  grass,  presented  a  picture  as  beautiful  and  as  awe-inspiring  as  must  have 
been  the  outlook  to  the  pilgrims  in  mid-ocean  or  the  first  sight  of  the  Great  Lakes 
to  the  white  man.  The  soft  sunshine,  the  gentle  breeze,  burdened  with  the 
fragrance  of  innumerable  flowers,  the  gay  winged  insects,  the  water  fowl,  the 
singing  birds,  all  lent  charm  to  the  scene.  The  buffalo  and  deer,  not  yet  having 
been  taught  to  fear  the  white  man,  came  to  the  river's  brink  to  satisfy  their 
thirst.  It  was  indeed  a  goodly  land  to  look  upon.  These  explorers  ascended  the 
Illinois  river  to  where  Peoria  is  now  located  where  they  found  the  large  Indian 
village  of  Kaskaskia.  Here  they  paused,  and  Father  Marquette  established  a 
mission  among  the  Indians.  This  mission,  after  more  than  two  and  a  quarter 
centuries,  yet  exists,  having  been  moved  when  the  village  was  moved,  to  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia  (Okaw)  river.  The  Mississippi  river  changed  its  course, 
so  that  Kaskaskia  is  now  an  island  in  its  waters,  completely  cut  off  from  the 
Illinois  shore.  But  the  mission  established  by  Marquette,  remains  the  same  in 
name  and  location. 

Joliet  and  Marquette  parted  company  after  they  left  the  village  of  Kaskaskia 
and  Joliet  returned  directly  to  Quebec,  where  he  made  his  report  of  the  expedition, 
telling  the  direction  and  extent  of  the  Mississippi  river,  as  well  as  telling  of  the 
Illini  country.  The  civilized  world  first  learned  through  this  report  of  the  exist- 
ence of  this  great  waterway,  and  of  the  fertile  land  in  the  heart  of  the  new 
continent.  The  later  explorations  of  Joliet,  or  missionary  work  of  Marquette, 
in  no  way  influences  the  section  whose  history  is  here  being  given.  The  glowing 
report  of  Joliet  aroused  public  interest  which  crystalized  into  the  subsequent 
plans  of  La  Salle,  who  with  the  invincible  Tonti,  explored  the  Mississippi  to  its 
mouth  a  few  years  later  and  formally  declared  the  entire  Mississippi  valley  a 
part  of  France.  The  plans  of  La  Salle  included  a  chain  of  forts  from  Quebec 
to  New  Orleans.  To  this  end  he  fortified  Fort  St.  Louis  (now  known  by  the 
name  of  Starved  Rock)  and  also  attempted  to  plant  colonies  at  the  Gulf  and, 
but  for  his  untimely  death,  might  have  built  a  permanent  New  France  in 
America. 


10  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  New  France,  as  recognized,  included  the  vast  domain  north  of  the  Ohio 
river  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  This  territory  is  often  spoken  of  as  the 
country  of  the  Illinois  or  the  Illini,  but  in  reality  the  country  of  the  Illini  was 
restricted  on  the  east  by  that  ridge  which  divides  the  tributaries  of  the  Illinois 
river  from  those  of  the  Wabash  river.  Such  being  the  case,  that  territory  now 
known  as  Vermilion  County  was  never  a  part  of  the  country  of  the  Illini,  and 
only  in  a  general  way,  as  being  a  part  of  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river 
and  east  of  the  Mississippi,  seeks  the  beginning  of  its  history  in  the  discoveries 
of  Joliet  and  Marquette.  In  truth  Vermilion  County  is  a  part  of  the  Wabash 
valley,  belonged  to  the  Wabash  country,  and  must  look  for  its  early  history  in 
the  story  of  that  section. 

Four  years  before  the  exploration  of  Joliet  and  Marquette,  it  is  said,  La  Salle 
set  out  from  Montreal  upon  an  expedition  into  the  far  country  to  the  southwest. 
Unfortunately,  the  account  of  this  journey  is  among  the  records  that  have  been 
lost  since  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  No  official  account  can  now  be 
found  of  the  two  years  following  La  Salle's  leaving  Montreal,  upon  this,  his 
first  journey.  There  is  a  memorandum  in  existence  which  states  that  "after 
leaving  Lake  Erie  six  or  seven  leagues  distant,  he  came  to  a  stream  which  he 
descended  to  the  River  Ohio,"  but  no  mention  is  made  of  the  name  of  this  stream. 
It  is,  however,  highly  probable  that  it  was  along  the  historic  Wabash  (or  Oubache, 
as  the  Indians  called  that  river) ,  that  La  Salle  made  his  way  to  the  Ohio.  Later, 
the  French  had  a  favored  route  from  Lake  Erie,  via  the  Maumee  and  Wabash 
rivers  to  the  Ohio  river. 

Granted  that  La  Salle  paddled  his  canoe  down  the  Wabash  river  in  1669, 
and,  by  the  right  of  discovery,  has  the  prior  claim  to  this  section,  and  that  the 
Wabash  valley  was  made  known  through  records  now  lost,  conditions  here 
remain  about  the  same.  La  Salle's  discovery  made  the  Wabash  valley  a  part  of 
the  same  government  as  had  claim  to  the  Illinois  country  through  the  explorations 
of  the  Mississippi  river  by  Joliet  and  Marquette. 

The  later  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  river  by  La  Salle  himself,  following 
in  the  lead  of  Joliet  and  Marquette,  put  this  entire  country  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  into  New  France,  and  the  only  question  arises  is  whether  history  of  the 
section  which  embraces  what  is  now  called  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  begins 
in  1669,  when  La  Salle  is  supposed  to  have  discovered  the  Wabash  valley,  or  in 
1673  when  Joliet  and  Marquette  are  known  to  have  discovered  the  Illinois 
country,  or  yet  later,  in  1680  when  La  Salle  formally  took  possession  of  the 
country  drained  by  the  great  Mississippi  river  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  France. 
But  it  matters  little  whether  this  section  belonged  to  the  careless  monarch, 
whose  interests  in  New  France  it  was  impossible  to  arouse,  a  few  years  sooner 
or  later,  for  what  possible  effect  could  it  have  had  upon  the  people  whose  homes 
were  here  at  that  time?  What  cared  the  dusky  subjects  who  roamed  the  banks 
of  the  Vermilion  and  its  tributaries,  fought  others  of  their  race  because  of  real  or 
fancied  wrongs,  whether  or  not  far  away  an  indifferent  France  did  or  did  not 
own  the  soil  during  this  decade  in  the  seventeenth  century ! 

The  journey  down  the  Wabash  must  have  been  similar  to  that  made  by  Joliet 
and  Marquette,  up  the  Illinois.  Vast  forests  lined  the  banks,  beyond  which  the 
grass  waved  on  the  Wea  Plains  and  other  prairies  of  Indiana.  Singing  birds  in 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  11 

the  tree  tops,  wild  game  coming  in  places  to  the  river's  brink,  the  ripple  of  the 
placid  stream — all  were  the  counterpart  of  that  other  journey  made  with  the 
Lilies  of  France  unfurled  to  the  breeze  of  the  new  West  on  the  Illinois  river. 

Whether  Vermilion  County,  as  a  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  or  a  part  of  the 
Wabash  Valley,  was  first  explored,  the  fact  is  undisputed,  it  owes  its  discovery 
to  the  French  and  was  made  known  to  the  civilized  world  through  the  records 
of  the  French  government. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ORIGINAL   PROPRIETORS   OF  WHAT   IS  NOW   KNOWN   AS 
VERMILION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

THE  AMERICAN   INDIAN THE  TWO  GREAT  NATIONS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  IROQUOIS THE  ALGONQUINS   THE  FRIEND  OF  THE    FRENCH 

THE   IROQUOIS    THE    FRIEND   OF  THE  BRITISH THE   MIAMI    CONFEDERACY THE 

ILLINI    NEARLY  RELATED  TO  THE  MIAMIS THE  PIANKESHAWS  A  TRIBE  OF  THE 

MIAMI     CONFEDERACY THE      HABITS     OF     THE      MIAMIS THE      PIANKESHAWS 

ALONG    THE    WABASH    RIVER THE    KICKAPOOS THEIR    VILLAGES    IN    THIS    SEC- 
TION  THE     PEACE     MEDAL THE     KICKAPOO     TREATIES THE     POTTO  W  ATOM  IES 

THE   LAST  TO    LEAVE  THIS   TERRITORY THE  REMOVAL    OF   THE   POTTOWATOM1ES 

IN   1838 — THE  PASSING  OF  THE  INDIAN. 

When  the  Western  Continent  was  discovered  a  new  race  of  people  was  found. 
As  the  eastern  coast  was  explored  and  colonized  the  natives  proved  to  be  quite 
similar,  differing  when  at  all,  in  degree  of  appearance  and  characteristics.  Be- 
cause the  discovery  of  America  was  made,  in  although  a  futile  yet  an  earnest 
search  for  a  shorter  route  to  India,  these  natives  were  called  Indians.  Later, 
when  it  was  learned  that  a  new  country  instead  of  India  had  been  found,  the 
natives  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of  American  Indians.  This  new  race 
was  found  to  inhabit  the  entire  new  land  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  country 
north  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  the  Mississippi  river, 
and  westward  to  the  Rocky  mountains. 

In  appearance  the  people  of  this  newly  found  race  were  pleasing.  They  were 
tall,  straight  and  well  proportioned;  of  a  copper-colored  skin,  long  coarse  and 
perfectly  straight  hair;  strong  features  with  high  cheek-bones,  and  had  black, 
piercing,  expressive  eyes.  Bodily  deformity  was  unknown  and,  until  they  adopted 
the  vices  of  the  Europeans,  but  little  diseases  prevailed  among  them.  They  had 
vigorous  constitutions  and  astonishing  powers  of  endurance. 

One  writer  in  the  early  times  who  had  lived  with  them,  summed  up  their 
characteristics  in  these  words:  "They  were  indolent,  taciturn,  and  unsocial; 
brave  and  sometimes  generous  in  war;  unflinching  under  bodily  torture;  re- 
vengeful, treacherous,  and  morose  when  injured  or  offended ;  not  always  grateful 
for  favors ;  grave  and  sagacious  in  council ;  often  eloquent  in  speech ;  sometimes 
warm  and  constant  in  friendship,  and  occasionally  courteous  and  polite." 

While  the  American  Indian  from  Florida  to  the  Rocky  mountains  spoke  a 
variety  of  dialects,  there  were,  perhaps,  not  more  than  eight  radically  distinct 

12 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  13 

languages  among  them.  All  the  races  were  more  or  less  nomadic  in  their  habits, 
yet  each  tribe  had  its  own  territory  as  a  habitat.  The  migration  of  the  American 
Indian  was  from  the  west  to  the  east,  and  generally,  with  a  tendency  toward  a 
southern  direction.  The  white  man  came  into  America  and  went  from  the  east 
to  the  west ;  the  red  man  went  from  the  west  to  the  east. 

Nothing  is  really  known  of  the  origin  of  the  race — all  theories  so  far 
advanced  lacked  satisfactory  substantiation,  and  become  but  conjecture.  One 
fact  alone  remains  undisputed,  and  that  is  the  direction  whence  they  came.  In 
most  of  the  tribes  there  was  a  legend,  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another  of  "having  come  from  the  shore  of  the  great  sea,  far  to  the  setting 
sun,"  without  doubt  meaning  the  Pacific  ocean.  As  the  white  man  explored 
the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  two  great  families  of  Indians  were 
found.  These  families  were  known  as  the  Algonquins  and  the  Iroquois.  They 
in  turn  were  divided  into  many  tribes  or  clans,  each  with  a  different  name. 
These  two  families  were  to  the  white  man,  apparently,  distinct  people.  They 
were  antagonistic,  and  irrevocably  sworn  enemies.  While  the  Algonquins  were 
the  more  numerous,  the  Iroquois  were  the  dominant  nation.  This,  according  to 
Indian  tradition,  had  not  always  been  the  case,  however.  Long  before  the 
Europeans  came  to  the  new  world,  the  Iroquois  were  a  peaceful  people.  Their 
principal  village  was  on  the  northern  side  of  the  lakes  about  where  Montreal 
is  now  situated.  They  made  "the  planting  of  corn  their  business,"  and  were 
under  a  sort  of  subjection  to  the  Adirondacks.  Adirondack  was  the  Iroquois 
name  for  Algonquin,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the  source  of  all  the  tribes  con- 
sidered a  part  of  the  Algonquin  family.  The  habitat  of  the  Adirondacks  sur- 
rounded the  village  of  the  Iroquois.  Naturally  the  Adirondacks  despised  the 
Iroquois  who  had  as  their  business,  work  "fit  only  for  women."  The  Adirondacks 
delighted  in  the  more  manly  employment  of  hunting,  and  going  to  war  with 
other  tribes. 

As  time  went  by,  however,  the  game  grew  scarce  and  wandered  further,  and 
was  more  difficult  to  get  and  the  Adirondacks  felt  the  need  of  help  from  the 
young  men  of  the  Iroquois.  So  they  induced  these  peaceable  people  to  join  them 
in  the  chase.  An  unforseen  condition  arose.  The  young  Iroquois  became  more 
expert  than  their  teachers  in  the  hunt  and  showed  a  greater  power  of  endurance 
of  fatigue.  This  aroused  the  hatred  of  the  Adirondacks,  and  one  night  they 
murdered  the  young  men  of  the  Iroquois  whom  they  had  with  them.  The  chief 
of  the  Iroquois  complained  but  they  were  treated  with  contempt.  The  Adiron- 
dacks had  no  fear  of  the  Iroquois,  thinking  they  were  but  "as  women."  At  last 
the  Iroquois  were  aroused  to  action  and  they  determined  upon  revenge.  The 
Adirondacks  hearing  this,  declared  war.  The  Iroquois  were  defeated,  and  forced 
from  their  country  to  the  south  side  of  the  Lakes.  Here  they  ever  afterward 
lived,  but  they  were  a  changed  people.  They  had  learned  to  fight,  and  in  time 
they  became  a  powerful  nation.  They  formed  a  strong  confederacy  afterward 
called  the  Five  and  later  the  Six  Nations.  Their  habitat  was  through  what  is  now 
the  State  of  New  York.  Living  as  they  did  in  the  midst  of  their  old  enemies, 
the  Adirondacks,  they  yet  became  their  conquerors.  The  Iroquois  went  east 
into  New  England,  and  west  as  far  as  the  "Country  of  the  Illini,"  subjugating 


14  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

other  tribes  from  whom  they  constantly  exacted  tribute.     The  Iroquois  have 
fittingly  been  called  the  "Romans  of  the  Western  World." 

The  Algonquins,  through  their  various  tribes,  inhabited  the  vast  territory  now 
included  in  all  of  Canada,  New  England,  a  part  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
all  of  the  States  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  eastern 
North  Carolina  north  of  Cape  Fear,  a  large  portion  of  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
and  all  north  and  west  of  these  States,  east  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

The  early  settlers  of  New  England,  the  Dutch  coming  to  the  Hudson  river, 
and  the  French  discovering  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  all  found  the  Algonquins  in 
possession  of  this  part  of  the  country.  Those  on  the  Hudson  river  early  were 
made  subject  to  the  Iroquois.  When  Champlain  established  Quebec,  he  found 
the  Algonquins  very  friendly.  They  were  as  usual  making  ready  to  fight  their 
perpetual  enemy,  the  Iroquois.  Champlain  taught  them  the  use  of  the  white 
man's  arms  and  himself  led  them  to  victory  in  a  memorable  battle  on  the  lake 
since  called  by  his  name.  This  act,  simple  as  it  seemed  in  itself,  determined  the 
history  of  America.  The  undying  hatred  of  the  French,  on  the  part  of  the 
Iroquois,  was  aroused.  They  became  the  perpetual  enemy  of  the  Frenchman  and 
all  of  his  friends,  and  interests.  Through  their  compact  with  the  Dutch,  which 
was  inherited  by  their  conquerors,  the  English,  the  Iroquois  were  always  sworn 
to  the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  and  were  ever  their  allies.  They  held  themselves 
a  steady  barrier  to  French  invasion  of  New  England,  and  were  an  aid  to  the 
colonies  on  the  coast.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Algonquins  were  as  loyal  friends 
to  the  French,  and  their  good  will  made  the  exploration  of  the  representatives 
of  this  nation  westward  possible  and  their  possession  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
a  matter  of  course. 

The  territory  now  known  as  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  was  the  home  of  the 
confederacies  of  the  Algonquin  family  called  the  Miamis,  with  later  the  Kicka- 
poos,  and  Pottowatomies,  with  temporary  occupancy  by  scattered  bands  of 
Shawnees  and  Delawares.  The  eastern  limit  of  the  possessions  of  the  Illini  was 
the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Illinois  river  from 
those  of  the  Wabash  river.  The  Miami  Confederacy  is  the  earliest  known 
occupant  of  this  section  of  country.  The  Miamis  were  without  doubt  origi- 
nally a  branch  of  the  great  Illinois  Nation.  Their  claim  to  relationship  of 
the  two  made  by  earliest  writers  is  agreed  to  by  no  less  authority  than  Gen. 
William  Henry  Harrison,  whose  long  official  connection  with  both  the  Illinois  and 
the  Miamis,  gives  his  theories  great  weight. 

The  separation  of  the  tribes  which  took  place  before  the  white  man  explored 
the  upper  Mississippi  river,  and  by  the  time  of  occupancy  seemed  to  be  com- 
plete. This  separation  was,  indeed  so  complete  that  in  the  wars  waged  against 
the  Illini  by  the  Iroquois,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  other  enemies,  the  Miamis 
never  made  offer  of  assistance,  yet  there  were  the  best  of  reasons  to  believe  they 
were  one  family  originally.  Their  language,  manners  and  customs  were  so 
nearly  identical,  that  little  doubt  can  exist  that  they  were  at  one  time  the  same 
nation.  According  to  their  own  tradition,  the  Miamis  and  the  Illinois  as  well, 
came,  originally,  from  the  Pacific  ocean.  Their  first  permanent  stopping  place 
of  which  the  white  man  has  knowledge,  was  at  the  Des  Moines  river.  Here  they 
separated.  The  migrations  of  the  Miamis  from  the  west  of  the  Mississippi 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  15 

river  eastward,  can  be  followed  readily  through  the  mass  of  records  handed 
down  from  the  missionaries,  travelers  and  officers  connected  with  the  French. 
Their  travel  extended  through  what  is  now  Wisconsin,  and  northern  Illinois 
around  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  to  Detroit  and  thence  up  the  Maumee 
river  and  down  the  Wabash  river  and  eastward  through  Indiana,  and  Ohio  as 
far  as  the  Great  Miami  river. 

Father  Claude  Dablon  made  a  visit  to  a  Miami  village  on  the  Fox  river 
in  1670,  and  writes  of  the  natives  in  a  letter  preserved  in  the  Jesuit  Relations  of 
1670  and  1671.  He  calls  them  the  "Oumaimi,  one  of  the  Illinois  Nation,  which 
is,  as  it  were,  dismembered  from  the  others  in  order  to  dwell  in  these  quarters." 
He  describes  the  Miami  chief  in  these  words :  "The  physiogomy  of  the  chief, 
Telmchonia,  was  as  mild  and  as  attractive  as  any  one  could  desire  to  see,  and, 
while  his  reputation  as  a  warrior,  was  great,  his  features  bore  a  softness  which 
charmed  all  those  who  beheld  him.  He  never  spoke  to  his  subjects,  but  imparted 
his  orders  through  some  of  his  officers."  This  pen  picture  of  a  man  whose 
subjects,  and  maybe  relatives,  lived  in  this  section  of  country  where  we  now 
have  our  homes,  is  interesting  to  us,  but  must  not  confuse  us  into  thinking  his 
people  were  without  the  well  known  characteristics  of  the  savage  of  the  plains. 

The  Miami  Confederacy  consisted  of  the  Miamis  proper,  the  Weas,  and  the 
Piankeshaws.  This  confederacy  was  known  to  the  Iroquois  and  was  often 
called  "Twight-wees"  by  them. 

The  Miamis  proper  are  known  to  have  been  at  what  is  now  the  city  of 
Fort  Wayne,  in  charge  of  the  portage  at  that  place,  as  early  as  1699,  and  a  few 
years  later  the  Weas  are  described  as  having  their  fort  and  cultivated  fields  on 
the  plains  below  what  is  now  the  city  of  LaFayette,  in  Indiana.  This  section 
is  even  yet  known  as  the  Wea  plains. 

When  the  French  first  explored  the  Wabash  river,  they  found  the  Pianke- 
shaws in  possession  of  the  land  on  either  side  of  that  stream  from  its  mouth  to 
the  Vermilion  river.  A  part,  at  least,  of  this  territory,  was  ceded  to  the  Dela- 
wares,  who,  in  turn,  in  1804,  made  a  session  of  it  to  the  United  States. 

From  the  time  the  white  man  came  into  this  country  of  the  Illini  (or  Illinois) 
its  eastern  limit  was  known  to  be  the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  flowing  into 
the  Illinois  river  from  the  streams  which  drain  into  the  Wabash  river.  This 
same  ridge  was  the  western  limit  of  the  country  of  the  Miamis. 

There  is  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  earliest  proprietors  of  the  territory  which 
is  now  Vermilion  County,  were  the  Miamis,  or,  to  be  yet  more  explicit,  the  first 
people  known  to  have  owned  these  fields  and  streams,  these  prairies  and  timber, 
belonged  to  the  Piankeshaw  tribe,  of  the  Miami  Confederacy.  The  superior 
number  of  the  Miamis  and  their  great  valor  enabled  them  to  extend  the  limit 
of  their  hunting  grounds  eastward  into  Ohio,  and  far  within  the  territory  of 
the  Iroquois.  Unlike  the  Illini,  the  Miamis  held  their  own  until  they  were 
placed  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  tribes  eastward  by  obtaining  possession 
of  firearms  with  which  they  were  able  to  maintain  their  tribal  integrity  and  inde- 
pendence. Again,  unlike  the  Illini,  they  did  not  keep  faith  with  the  French. 
They  traded  and  fought  with  the  French,  English  and  Americans  as  their  inter- 
ests or  passions  inclined ;  they  made  peace  or  declared  war  against  other  nations 
of  their  own  race,  as  policy  or  caprice  dictated.  More  than  once  they  compelled 


16  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

the  arrogant  Iroquois  to  beg,  from  the  governor  of  New  York,  that  protection 
which  they,  themselves,  had  failed  to  secure  by  their  own  prowess. 

The  Miamis  became  bold  and  independent,  and  did  not  appeal  to  the  French 
as  an  attractive  field  for  missionary  work.  As  a  result  of  this,  the  Jesuit  Rela- 
tions and  pastoral  letters  of  the  priesthood  have  less  to  say  of  this  Confederacy 
than  of  any  of  the  other  western  tribes,  the  Kickapoos  alone  excepted. 

Trade  with  the  Miamis  was  sought  with  great  eagerness,  by  both  the  French 
and  the  English.  This  involved  wars  between  the  Miamis  and  the  Iroquois  and 
constant  reduction  of  their  numbers. 

After  the  French  were  driven  from  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  Miamis  were 
compelled  to  defend  their  title  from  the  arrogant  claims  of  the  British.  They 
took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac.  This  conspiracy  failed, 
and  Pontiac  went  to  Fort  Chartres  which  he  kept  from  the  actual  possession  of 
the  British  for  two  years.  The  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  the  transfer  of  Fort 
Chartres  to  the  British,  was  secured  through  a  conference  between  Pontiac  and 
George  Croghan,  Department  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs.  This  conference 
was  held  within  the  country  of  the  Miamis.  Croghan  and  Pontiac  met  on  the 
familiar  trail,  which  crosses  the  southern  part  of  Vermilion  County.  This  trail 
crossed  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town  of  Sidell  and  it  is  even  yet  distinctly 
discernible  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Edgar  County  where  it  has  been  marked 
by  a  tablet. 

Beside  the  wars  into  which  the  Miamis  were  drawn,  they  were  greatly 
reduced  in  numbers  by  reason  of  the  ravages  of  smallpox;  whole  villages  were 
depopulated  by  this  dread  scourge.  As  the  years  passed,  the  Miamis  were 
degraded  by  the  vices  of  the  white  man,  and  became  weakened  and  easily  over- 
come by  their  enemies.  The  Kickapoos  and  the  Pottowatomies  drove  them  to 
the  east  of  the  Wabash  river  before  white  men  came  to  settle  this  part  of  the 
Wabash  Valley. 

The  early  settler  came  into  contact  and  were  better  acquainted  with  these 
Indians  who  came  later,  than  with  the  Piankeshaws,  or  any  other  tribe  of  the 
Pottowatomies.  The  Kickapoos  were  associated  with,  or  were  a  part  of,  the 
Mascoutins,  a  tribe  who  had,  some  time  before  the  appearance  of  the  Kickapoos, 
as  such,  in  the  Wabash  Valley,  gone  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river.  Writers 
differ  in  considering  the  relationship  between  these  two  tribes.  They  are  some- 
times classed  as  the  same,  and  sometimes,  as  two  distinct  people.  Even  while 
they  were  regarded  as  separate  bands  or  subdivisions  of  a  tribe,  it  had  to  be 
admitted  that  their  language  and  customs  were  identical.  They  always  occupied 
contiguous  villages  and  hunted  in  company  with  each  other,  over  the  same  coun- 
try. They  were  always  united  in  interests.  No  instance  is  on  record  where 
they  were  ever  arrayed  against  each  other,  or  where  they  ever  took  opposite 
sides  in  any  alliance  with  other  tribes.  Treaties  were  always  made  with  the 
Kickapoos  when  both  were  involved,  and  instances  are  recorded  when  known 
Mascoutins  signed  their  names  as  Kickapoos. 

The  Kickapoos  were  connected  with  the  Northwest,  being  first  noticed  by 
Samuel  Champlain,  in  1612,  "residing  near  the  place  called  Sakinam,"  meaning 
the  country  of  the  Sacs,  which  bordered  on  Lake  Huron,  in  the  vicinity  of  Sagi- 
naw  Bay.  Father  Claude  Allouz  visited  "a  mixed  village  of  Miamis,  Kickapoos 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  17 

and  Mascoutins,  on  Fox  river,  in  the  winter  of  1669-70.  Like  the  Miamis,  the 
Kickapoos  were  not  inclined  to  receive  religious  impressions  from  the  early  mis- 
sionaries. Tonti  quaintly  records  their  ruthless  murder  of  Father  Ribourd  in 
these  words: — "They  carried  him  away  and  broke  his  head."  Other  instances 
are  on  record  of  their  cruelty  to  the  missionaries.  Previous  to  1718  they  had 
villages  on  the  Rock  river,  having  been  driven  thither  by  the  scarcity  of  game 
and  enmity  of  the  Sioux.  The  Rock  river  is  laid  down  on  a  map  of  La  Salle's 
discoveries  as  the  Kickapoo  river — "the  Assin-Sepe." 

The  Kickapoos  came  into  the  Wabash  Valley  as  disputers  of  the  Miamis' 
claim  as  early,  at  least,  as  1765.  The  distinction  between  them  and  the  Mascou- 
tins is  inferred  from  the  record  made  as  late  as  1815,  of  the  Mascoutins  residing 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  between  Vincennes  and  the  Tippecanoe  river, 
and  the  Kickapoos  living  a  short  distance  above  them,  in  several  large  villages. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  an  important  Kickapoo  village 
was  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river,  a  few  miles  south  of  Danville, 
and  a  large  Kickapoo  burial  ground  was  to  be  found  a  few  miles  west  on  the  Salt 
Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river. 

No  instance  is  recorded  where  the  Kickapoos  assisted  either  the  French  or 
British  in  any  of  the  intrigues  or  wars  for  the  fur  trade,  or  the  acquisition  of 
disputed  territory  in  the  Northwest.  They  early  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the 
French,  but  there  is  no  record  that  they  became  the  allies  of  the  British  on  any 
occasion. 

As  a  military  people  the  Kickapoos  were  inferior  to  the  Miamis,  the  Dela- 
wares,  and  the  Shawnees,  in  movements  requiring  large  bodies  of  men,  but  they 
excelled  in  predatory  warfare.  Small  parties  of  five  to  twenty  would  push  out 
hundreds  of  miles  from  their  villages  and  swoop  down  upon  a  feeble  settlement, 
or  an  isolated  pioneer's  cabin,  and  make  off  before  an  alarm  could  be  given. 
The  Kickapoos  were  very  much  attached  to  the  country  along  the  Vermilion 
river  and  General  Harrison,  then  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  had 
great  trouble  in  gaining  their  consent  to  cede  it  to  the  United  States.  They 
valued  it  highly  as  a  hunting  ground,  and  also  because  of  the  minerals  it  was 
supposed  to  contain.  But  they  were  not  alone  in  an  appreciation  of  this  terri- 
tory. The  Government  was  desirious  of  its  possession,  and  General  Harrison 
was  determined  to  secure  it.  In  a  letter  dated  December  10,  1809,  addressed  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Harrison  expressed  his  anxiety  to  have  the 
Kickapoos  release  their  title  as  high  up  as  the  Vermilion  river.  He  particularly 
coveted  the  tract  "bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Wabash,  on  the  south  by  the 
northern  line  of  the  so-called  Harrison  Purchase,  extending  from  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Raccoon  creek,  northwest  fifteen  miles ;  thence  to  a  point  on  the 
Vermilion  river  twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  its  mouth ;  thence  down 
the  latter  stream  to  its  confluence."  "This  small  tract  of  land  (of  about  twenty- 
five  miles  square,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  that  can  be  imagined.  It  is, 
moreover,  believed  to  contain  a  rich  copper  mine.  The  Indians  are  so  extremely 
jealous  of  any  search  being  made  for  this  mine  that  the  traders  were  always 
cautioned  not  to  approach  the  hills  which  were  supposed  to  contain  it." 

Beckwith's  Historic  Notes  of  the  North- West  (foot-note,  page  164),  states 
that  there  was  a  mistake  made  in  this  letter  concerning  the  mineral  in  this 


18  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

mine ;  that  it  was  not  copper  but  a  mineral  having  something  like  the  appearance 
of  silver.  Explorations  on  the  bluffs  of  the  Little  Vermilion,  in  the  seventies, 
resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  number  of  ancient  furnaces,  with  the  charred  coals 
and  slag  remaining  in  and  about  them.  The  furnaces  were  crude,  consisting  of 
shallow  excavations  of  irregular  shape  in  the  hillsides.  These  basins  were  but 
a  few  feet  across ;  they  too,  were  lined  with  fine  clay.  The  bottoms  of  the  pits 
were  connected  by  ducts,  or  troughs,  also  made  of  fireclay,  leading  into  reser- 
voirs, a  little  distance  lower  down  the  hillside,  into  which  the  metal  could  flow, 
when  reduced  to  a  liquid  state,  in  the  furnace  above. 

The  pits  were  carefully  filled  with  earth  and  every  precaution  was  taken  to 
prevent  their  discovery,  a  slight  depression  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  being 
the  only  indication  of  their  presence.  These  mines  were,  from  every  appearance, 
entitled  to  a  claim  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  were  probably  "the  silver  mines 
of  the  Wabash,"  of  which  repeated  mention  is  made  by  early  writers. 

The  most  plausible  explanation  of  the  use  to  which  this  metal  was  put  was 
given,  at  the  time  the  mines  were  explored  by  a  half-breed  Indian  whose  ances- 
tors lived  in  the  vicinity  and  were  in  the  secret.  He  said  that,  after  being 
smelted  the  metal  was  sent  to  Montreal,  where  it  was  used  as  an  alloy  with  sil- 
ver and  made  into  brooches,  wristbands  and  other  jewelry,  and  returned  to  the 
traders  to  be  disposed  of  to  the  Indians. 

The  territory  described  by  General  Harrison,  extended  into  the  southeast 
corner  of  what  is  now  Vermilion  County,  and  is  yet  a  tract  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion, for  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  to  be  imagined,  for,  together  with  the 
adjoining  territory  in  that  part  of  the  county,  it  makes  the  richest  farm  lands 
to  be  found  any  where.  This  land,  although  coveted  by  Harrison,  was  not  ceded 
to  the  United  States  until,  at  a  treaty  made  at  Edwardsville,  in  1819.  This  was 
ten  years  after  the  above  quoted  letter  was  written,  but,  meanwhile,  Tecumseh 
had  "taken  up  the  hatchet  against  the  white  people"  and  all  Governor  Harrison's 
time  was  taken  in  "fighting  it  out,"  as  Tecumseh  said,  and  securing  the  Wabash 
Valley  to  the  white  man. 

Since  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  only  indirect  in  results  of  influence  to 
the  settlement  of  Vermilion  County,  a  brief  mention  of  its  importance,  is  only 
admissible.  True  it  is,  it  made  the  occupancy  of  this  territory  possible  at  that 
time.  When  making  the  treaty  the  Kickapoos  claimed  the  entire  territory  which 
they  ceded  as  theirs  "by  descent  from  their  ancestors,  by  conquest  from  the 
Illinois  Nation  (probably  inferring  the  Miamis  a  part  of  the  Illinois  Nation) 
and  by  uninterrupted  possession  for  more  than  half  a  century." 

As  compared  with  other  Indians,  the  Kickapoos  were  industrious  and  intelli- 
gent, and  cleanly  in  their  habits.  They  were  better  armed  and  clothed  than  the 
other  tribes.  The  men,  as  a  rule,  were  tall,  sinewy  and  active ;  the  women  were 
lithe,  and  many  of  them  by  no  means  lacking  in  beauty.  Their  dialect  was  soft 
and  liquid  as  compared  with  the  rough  gutteral  language  of  the  Pottowatomies. 
The  Kickapoos  lived  to  themselves  and  did  not,  as  a  rule,  mix  with  the  white 
people;  because  of  this  they  preserved  their  characteristics.  The  vices  of  the 
white  man  were  less  temptation  to  them  than  to  other  tribes.  They  were  never 
of  great  numbers,  as  compared  to  the  Miamis  or  Pottowatomies,  but  their 
energy  was  great  so  that  they  well  compared.  In  language,  manners  and  cus- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  19 

toms  the  Kickapoos  resembled  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  whose  allies  they  were  gen- 
erally counted. 

The  Kickapoos  shared  the  part  of  the  Wabash  Valley  with  the  Pottowatomies 
after  the  last  years  of  the  i8th  Century.  The  Pottowatomies  had  been  neigh- 
bors of  the  Miamis  to  the  north  for  some  time  before  the  treaty  of  Green- 
ville, in  1795.  At  this  time  the  Pottowatomies  announced  their  determination  to 
settle  upon  the  Wabash  river.  They  made  no  pretentions  to  ownership  of  that 
country,  and  gave,  as  their  reason  for  taking  the  Miami  territory,  that  "they  were 
tired  of  eating  fish  and  wanted  to  eat  meat." 

The  Pottowatomies  had  gradually  wandered  from  the  Lake  Huron  country 
southward,  without  any  fixed  land  of  their  own.  The  other  tribes  called  them 
squatters.  They  were  of  the  same  family  as  the  Ottawas  and  Ojibbeways  with 
but  a  difference  of  dialect,  not  a  difference  of  language.  Their  manners,  as 
well  as  their  dialect,  were  rough  and  barbarous,  as  compared  with  other  Algon- 
quin tribes.  They  were  loyal  to  the  French,  maintaining  their  alliance  so  long 
as  New  France  existed  in  America.  When  other  Indians  "as  far  west  as  the 
Illinois"  were  induced  to  be  bound  by  the  "Silver  Covenant  Chain"  and  desert 
the  French  at  the  Siege  of  Niagara,  the  Pottowatomies  were  not  counted  in  the 
number.  After  the  French  were  vanquished  by  the  British  the  Pottowatomies 
heartily  upheld  their  kinsman  Pontiac,  in  his  attempt  to  recover  the  country. 

The  Pottowatomies  fought  with  the  British  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  in  the  war  of  1812,  being  a  menace  to  the  frontiers  of  Kentucky,  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania.  It  was  the  Pottowatomies  who  perpetrated  the  massacre  at  Fort 
Dearborn,  August  15,  1812.  After  settling  themselves  in  the  Wabash  country, 
the  Pottowatomies  agreed  with  the  Kickapoos,  already  there,  that  they,  together, 
would  take  possession  of  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  river,  leaving  the  east 
side  for  the  Miamis,  now  grown  too  weak  to  resist  this  arrangement. 

This  was  a  hard  bargain  for  the  Miamis,  but  they  could  make  no  resistance ; 
they  were  dealing  with  a  stronger  people.  , 

One  of  these  mixed  Pottowatomie  towns  was  located  but  a  short  distance  out- 
side of  present-day  Vermilion  County.  The  exact  location  of  this  town  is  a  mat- 
ter of  record  in  a  speech  made  by  the  renowned  Indian  chief,  "Kesis"  (the  Sun), 
to  General  Wayne,  when  telling  of  his  own  village  which  was  "a  day's  walk  below 
the  Wea  town  on  the  Wabash."  He  referred  to  the  village  which  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  Shelby  farm  near  Cayuga,  which  is  yet  owned  by  descendents  of  the 
family  living  in  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  Evidences  of  Indian  fighting  have 
been  found  in  various  parts  of  Vermilion  County.  The  old  Baird  farm,  now 
owned  by  John  Baird,  near  Indianola,  has  given  much  evidence  of  a  battle  hav- 
ing been  fought  at  that  spot,  but  it  is  impossible  to  determine  whether  it  was 
between  the  Pottowatomies,  or  the  Kickapoos  against  the  Piankeshaws,  or  was 
even  at  an  earlier  date.  The  Revolutionary  war  was  concluded  without  Great 
Britain  making  any  provision  for  her  Indian  allies,  who  continued  their  hos- 
tilities. No  treaty  had  been  made  between  the  United  States  and  the  Wabash 
tribes.  The  Indians  of  this  territory  were  a  menace  to  the  frontier,  and  there 
seemed  no  help  for  it.  The  United  States  government  tried  peaceable  means 
to  bring  an  end  to  Indian  depredations,  and,  failing  in  this,  sent  out  expeditions 
into  the  Wabash  country,  under  General  Harrison  and  then  under  General  Charles 


20  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Scott,  and  last  under  General  Wilkinson,  which,  in  every  case,  resulted  in  the 
burning  of  Indian  villages,  the  devastation  of  their  fields  and  the  capture  of  wom- 
en and  children,  but  not  the  conquering  of  the  Indians  themselves.  The  prison- 
ers were  taken  to  Fort  Washington.  Again  the  government  tried  to  bring  the 
Wabash  tribes  to  a  treaty  of  peace.  Grown  vindictive  and  arrogant  beyond 
words,  the  Indians  declined  all  overtures. 

General  Putnam,  who  was  the  Indian  Agent  of  the  Ohio  Company,  at  Mari- 
etta, at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  visited  the  hostile  tribes,  and  finding  they  would 
not  go  to  Philadelphia  nor  Fort  Washington,  he  induced  them  to  meet  at  Vin- 
cennes.  Starting  from  Fort  Washington,  August  26,  1792,  he  went  to  Vin- 
cennes,  reaching  there  September  12.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  Moravian 
missionary,  John  Heckwelder.  They  took  the  surviving  prisoners  who  had  been 
captured  by  General  Scott  and  General  Wilkinson  the  previous  year,  with  them. 
There  were  one  hundred  forty  persons  put  into  the  boats  and  taken  down  the 
Ohio  and  up  the  Wabash  rivers.  The  Indians  who  had  already  come  to  Vin- 
cennes  when  they  reached  there,  September  12,  "were  assembled  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  when  they  saw  their  friends  approaching,"  wrote  Heck- 
welder,  "they  discharged  their  guns  in  token  of  joy  and  sang  the  praises  of 
those  from  whom  they  had  been  separated,  in  terms  peculiar  to  themselves." 

The  prisoners  were  at  once  delivered  to  their  friends.  For  the  next  ten 
days  the  Indians  came  daily  to  make  the  treaty.  By  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
fourth,  delegates  representing  the  Eel  Creeks,  Wea,  Pottowatomie,  Mascoutin, 
Kickapoo,  Piankeshaw,  Kaskaskia  and  Peoria  tribes,  had  all  arrived.  Speeches 
were  made  by  both  General  Putnam  for  the  United  States,  and  the  assembled 
chiefs  and  definite  articles  of  peace  were  concluded.  These  were  signed  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  September,  1792.  This  was  the  first  treaty  ever  entered  into 
between  the  United  States  and  the  several  Wabash  tribes.  It  was  a  treaty  of 
peace  and  friendship  only.  General  Putnam  took  many  presents  with  him  when 
he  went  to  Vincennes  to  make  this  treaty.  Among  these  were  two  large  white 
wampum  belts  of  peace  with  a  silver  medal  suspended  to  each,  bearing  the  arms 
of  the  United  States. 

When  the  chiefs  of  the  several  tribes  had  signed  the  articles  of  the  treaty, 
General  Putnam  addressed  them  as  follows: — "Brothers,  listen  to  what  I  say: 
We  have  been  for  some  days  past  engaged  in  establishing  a  peace  and  we  have 
succeeded  through  the  influence  of  The  Great  Spirit.  Brothers,  we  have  wiped 
off  the  blood,  we  have  buried  the  hatchet,  on  both  sides,  all  that  is  past  shall  be 
forgotten."  Taking  up  the  belts,  he  continued :  "Brothers,  this  is  the  belt  of 
peace  which  I  now  present  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  United  States.  This  belt 
shall  be  the  evidence  of,  and  the  pledge  for,  the  performance  of  the  articles  of 
the  treaty  of  peace  which  we  have  concluded  between  the  United  States  and  your 
tribes  this  day. 

"Brothers,  whenever  you  look  at  this,  remember  that  there  is  a  perpetual 
peace  and  friendship  between  you  and  us,  and  that  you  are  now  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  United  States.  Brothers,  we  will  hold  this  belt  in  our  hands, — 
here  at  this  end,  the  United  States  holds  it,  and  you  hold  it  by  the  other  end. 
The  road  you  see  is  broad,  level  and  clear.  We  may  now  pass  to  one  and  another 
easy  and  without  difficulty.  Brothers,  the  faster  we  hold  this  belt  the  happier 


PEACE  MEDAL  GIVEN*  AT  THE  TREATY  OF  VIXCEXXES.  SEPT.  27,  1792 

Found  at  the  old  Kickapoo  Indian  burying  ground  near  the  mouth  of 

the  middle  fork  of  the  Vermilion  river,  four  miles  west  of 

Danville.     Now  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Lynne 

Beckwith,  Danville 


REVERSE  SIDE  OF  PEACE  MEDAL 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  21 

we  shall  be.  Our  women  and  children  will  have  no  occasion  to  be  afraid  any 
more.  Our  young  men  will  observe  that  their  wise  men  performed  a  good 
work.  Brothers,  be  all  strong  in  that  which  is  good.  Abide  all  in  this  path, 
young  and  old,  and  you  will  enjoy  the  sweetness  of  peace."  After  speaking  this 
way  General  Putnam  delivered  the  belts. 

Among  the  Indians  present  was  the  renowned  Pottowatomi  chief,  "Kesis," 
whose  village  was  the  one  mentioned  above,  located  on  the  site  of  the  Shelby 
farm,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river. 

There  was  an  old  Indian  burial  ground,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Middle  Fork 
of  the  Vermilion  river  when  the  first  settlers  came  to  this  section.  This  burial 
ground  bore  all  evidence  of  having  been  used  by  the  Indians  many  years  prior 
to  the  time  of  the  cession  of  the  territory  along  the  Vermilion  river.  Any  one 
curious  to  locate  the  site  of  the  old  burying  ground  can  do  so  on  the  bluffs  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Middle  Fork  four  miles  West  of  Danville. 

There  are  no  signs  of  its  once  use  as  a  burial  place.  It  has  not  had  any 
such  use  since  the  removal  of  the  Pottowatomies  west  in  1838,  and  few  who 
pass  on  the  road  beneath  the  bluffs  every  day  know  that  it  was  ever  a  burial 
ground. 

It  was  sixty  odd  years  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty 'at  Vincennes,  that  two 
young  men,  living  on  a  farm  near  this  burying  ground,  were  walking  by  the 
river,  when  they  saw  a  skull  which  had  evidently  been  washed  out  of  the  bluff. 
They  made  search  and  found  a  grave  from  which  it  had  come.  Examining  the 
grave,  a  medal  was  found.  It  may  be  this  skull  was  not  found  by  accident, 
as  this  story  would  imply,  but  was  the  result  of  digging  in  the  grave,  seeking 
treasure.  Whatever  the  cause  of  finding  the  medal,  the  article  itself,  and  its 
being  in  a  grave  in  this  burying  ground,  is  the  matter  of  interest. 

This  medal  is  reproduced  in  this  volume  and  it  can  readily  be  seen  to  be 
exactly  as  the  description  given  by  the  Moravian  missionary,  of  the  peace  medal 
presented  by  General  Putnam  to  the  Indians  at  the  Vincennes  treaty  in  1792. 
This  medal  is  of  silver  set  in  a  rim  of  the  same  metal.  The  engraving  is  by 
hand,  of  course,  and  is  very  distinct.  It  can  be  studied  with  little  trouble  from 
the  illustration.  The  side  upon  which  is  engraved  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  the 
United  States  was  explained  to  the  Indians  by  Gen.  Putnam  in  these  words: — 
"Brothers,  the  engravings  on  this  medal  distinguish  the  United  States  from  all 
other  nations ;  it  is  called  their  arms,  and  no  other  nation  has  the  like.  The  prin- 
cipal figure  is  a  broad  eagle.  This  bird  is  a  native  of  this  country  and  is  to  be 
found  in  no  other  part  of  the  world;  and  both  you  and  the  Americans  being 
born  in  this  land  and  having  grown  up  together  with  the  eagle,  they  have  placed 
him  in  their  arms,  and  have  engraved  him  on  this  medal,  by  which  the  great 
chief,  General  Washington,  and  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  hold  this 
belt  fast.  The  wings  of  the  eagle  are  extended  to  give  protection  to  all  our 
friends,  and  to  assure  you  of  our  protection  so  long  as  you  hold  fast  this  belt. 
In  his  right  foot  the  eagle  holds  the  branch  of  a  tree,  which,  with  us,  is  an  em- 
blem of  peace,  and  it  means  that  we  love  peace,  and  wish  to  live  in  peace  with  all 
our  neighbors,  and  to  assure  you,  that  while  you  hold  this  belt  fast,  you  shall 
always  be  in  peace  and  security,  whether  you  are  pursuing  the  chase,  or  repos- 
ing yourselves  under  the  shadow  of  the  bough.  In  the  left  foot  of  this  bird  is 


22  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

placed  a  bundle  of  arrows;  by  this  is  meant  that  the  United  States  have  the 
means  of  war  and  that  when  peace  cannot  be  obtained  or  maintained  with  their 
neighbors,  on  just  terms,  and  that  if,  notwithstanding  all  their  endeavors  for 
peace,  war  is  made  upon  them,  they  are  prepared  for  it." 

The  other  side  of  the  medal  needed  no  interpretation  to  an  Indian.  It  tells 
its  own  story  better  than  any  words  could.  The  Indian  has  thrown  his  toma- 
hawk, the  emblem  of  war,  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  under  whose  roots  it  was  to 
be  typically  buried.  With  his  other  hand,  the  Indian  has  extended  the  pipe 
of  peace  (after  he,  himself,  had  smoked  it)  to  Washington,  and  he,  representing 
the  United  States,  has  reached  his  hand  to  receive  and  smoke.  These  acts  of 
friendly  feeling  insures  protection  to  the  pioneer  plowman  and  his  cabin  in  the 
background.  The  eye  in  the  rim  of  this  medal  shows  that  it  has  never  been  sus- 
pended. 

Since  it  is  believed  that  Kesis,  the  great  Chief,  was  buried  in  this  burying 
ground,  it  is  reasonable  to  think  that  this  medal  was  buried  with  him.  The 
young  men  sold  the  medal  to  Samuel  Chester  at  the  time,  and  he  later  disposed 
of  it  to  Josephus  Collett  of  Terre  Haute,  and  it  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
Mrs.  Lynne  Beckwith  of  Danville,  Illinois.  The  Pottowatomies  were  the  last 
of  their  race  to  leave  the  Wabash  country.  They  were  the  redmen  with  whom 
the  early  settlers  of  this  section  were  best  acquainted.  Whatever  notion  of 
the  American  Indian  there  has  been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another,  in  this  section,  was  had  from  association  with  the  Pottowatomies. 

There  were  reservations  made  for  them  in  both  Indiana  and  Illinois,  but  the 
white  man  crowded  them  out,  and  at  last  they  were  sent  beyond  the  Mississippi 
river. 

The  final  migration  of  the  Potowatomies  from  the  Wabash  Valley  was 
under  charge  of  Col.  Pepper  and  Gen.  Tipton  and  took  place  in  the  summer 
of  1838.  It  was  a  sad  sight,  these  children  of  the  forest  being  driven  from 
the  homes  of  their  childhood.  Bidding  farewell  to  the  hills,  valleys  and  streams 
of  their  infancy,  the  graves  of  their  revered  ancestors,  leaving  these  sacred 
scenes  to  be  desecrated  by  the  plowshares  of  the  white  man.  No  wonder  the 
downcast  warriors  wept — the  old  men  trembled  and  the  swarthy  cheek  of  the 
youth  paled.  There  were  about  one  thousand  persons  of  all  ages  in  the  line 
of  march.  Reluctantly  they  wended  their  way  toward  the  setting  sun,  watch- 
ing their  chances  to  break  into  the  brush  and  return  to  their  dearly  loved  homes, 
saying  they  would  rather  die  than  leave  their  country.  When  they  reached 
Danville  they  halted  several  days  being  in  want  of  food.  Without  tents,  and 
a  liberal  supply  of  food,  there  was  much  suffering  among  them.  While  at 
Danville  they  camped  on  the  Dave  Fowler  farm.  During  their  stay  there  were 
many  deaths. 

The  mournful  procession  passed  on  across  Illinois,  without  adequate  means 
of  conveyance  for  the  weak,  the  aged  and  the  infirm.  Several  years  later  the 
Miami  Nation  was  removed  to  their  western  homes  by  coercive  means  under 
an  escort  of  United  States  troops.  This  once  proud  and  powerful  nation 
was  far  inferior  in  point  of  numbers  to  the  Pottowatomies.  Their  removal 
took  the  last  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  section,  thenceforth  to  be  known 
as  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  to  beyond  the  Mississippi  river.  This  left  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  23 

fields  and  plains,  the  woods  and  rivers,  which  had  been  the  red  man's  home 
to  the  use  of  the  white  man. 

Generations  have  come  and  gone  since  the  American  Indian  has  lived  in 
Eastern  Illinois.  All  that  is  now  known  of  him  is  through  the  questionable 
tales  found  in  books,  or  worse,  the  representation  of  his  life  as  shown  on  the 
stage,  copied  as  it  is  from  those  of  his  race  west  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

The  American  Indian  has  passed  from  his  old  haunts  as  has  passed  the 
buffalo,  the  wild  game,  the  beaver  and  even  the  woods,  from  the  borders  of 
the  streams. 


CHAPTER  III. 
PIANKESHAW. 

DANVILLE  WAS  BUILT  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  OLD  INDIAN  VILLAGE  OF  PIANKESHAW — 

PIANKESHAW     AN     IMPORTANT     INDIAN     VILLAGE CHIPPECOKE,     THE    CAPITAL 

SEAT  OF  THE  PIANKESHAW ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  OF  THE  VERMILION  RIVER — 

EXTRACT    FROM    THE    JOURNAL    OF    GEORGE    CROGHAN AN    ENTRY    IN    M.    GAME- 

LIN'S     JOURNAL,    LOCATING    THE     VILLAGE    OF    PIANKESHAW POTTOWATOMIES 

TOLD  GURDON   HUBBARD  ABOUT  PIANKESHAW LIFE  OF  THE  DWELLERS  IN  PIAN- 
KESHAW  MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    RACE   WHO    FIRST    LIVED    IN    DAN»- 

VILLE FRENCH  TRADERS   IN   VERMILION   COUNTY. 

Few  people  who  walk  the  streets  of  Danville,  the  county  seat  of  Vermilion 
County,  Illinois,  realize  that  they  are  walking  upon  historic  ground  of  another 
race;  that  the  present  city  is  the  second  one  upon  this  site;  that  long  before 
the  white  men  who  are  credited  with  its  discovery  and  settlement  had  seen  this 
favored  location,  and  other  people  had  an  important  town  established  here  which 
attracted  notice  and  comment  from  early  writers. 

This  Indian  village,  to  which  reference  is  made,  is  frequently  mentioned  in 
early  memoirs  and  treaties,  and  it  is  always  described  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 
no  doubt  of  its  location. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  fact  that  the  Miami  Confederacy  of 
Indians  were  the  first  known  dwellers  in  the  Wabash  Valley.  After  their  immi- 
gration thither  the  Miamis  proper  resided  about  Fort  Wayne  on  the  St.  Mary's 
and  St.  Joseph's  rivers,  near  their  confluence  which  forms  the  Miami  river. 
They  also  lived  on  the  upper  Wabash.  The  Ouatonons,  or  Weas,  as  the  English 
called  them,  lived  further  down ;  their  principal  villages  being  on  the  Wea  Plains, 
between  what  is  now  Attica  and  LaFayette. 

When  the  French  first  came  down  the  Wabash,  the  Piankeshaws  were  found 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  from  the  Vermilion  down  to  the  Ohio,  and  westward 
into  Illinois  to  the  ridge  which  divides  the  tributaries  of  the  Wabash  from  those 
of  the  Illinois.  No  claim  had  ever  been  made  to  this  territory  by  any  other  tribe, 
nor  was  made  until  about  1770,  when  that  part  lying  west  of  White  river  in 
Indiana,  was  granted  to  the  Delawares  by  the  Piankeshaws  on  condition  that 
they  would  settle  on  it,  and  assist  in  a  war  with  the  Kickapoos,  which  was  at 
that  time  taking  their  interest. 

At  that  time  the  Miamis  and  the  Weas  (or  Ouatonons)  had  their  habitat 
separate  and  distinct,  extending  from  the  Maumee  and  its  tributaries  through 

24 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  25 

the  course  of  the  Wabash  Valley  as  far  south  as  near  Vincennes  where  Chip- 
pecoke,  or  the  town  of  Brushwood,  the  ancient  Capital  seat  of  the  Piankeshaws 
was  located.  The  bands  about  Vincennes  were  called  Lower  Piankeshaws, 
while  members  of  the  tribe  residing  higher  up  and  nearer  the  Vermilion  river 
were  designated  as  Upper  Piankeshaws.  Later  these  latter  were  known  as  Pian- 
keshaws of  the  Vermilion,  and  their  villages  on  the  stream  were  called  Vermilion 
towns. 

The  Miami  name  for  the  river,  known  as  the  Vermilion,  was  Piankeshaw. 
This  word  is  to  be  found  spelled  in  many  different  ways;  such  as  Pyankashaw, 
Pionkashaw,  Peanquichias,  and  otherwise.  This  dissimilarity  was  owing  to 
the  different  style  of  spelling  by  the  English,  the  Americans  and  French  authors ; 
each  making  more  or  less  successful  effort  to  approximate  the  sound  of  the 
word  as  the  Miami  Indian  pronounced  it.  Following  the  well  established  rules 
of  Indian  etymology,  as  to  the  manner  of  places  and  things,  it  may  be  the  tribe 
living  along  the  Vermilion,  were  called  Piankeshaws  from  the  name  of  the 
river,  rather  than  the  river  being  given  the  name  of  the  tribe;  just  as  the  tribes 
of  the  Miamis  residing  at  the  Wea  Plains  were  called  Weas,  those  at  the  Tip- 
pecanoe  river,  were  called  Tippecanoes,  and  those  higher  up  on  Eel  river  were 
called  Eel  Creeks. 

Official  document  covering  the  treaty  of  Vincennes  (1792),  conducted  by 
General  Rufus  Putnam,  to  be  found  at  Marietta  College,  give  Piankeshaw  as 
the  name  of  the  river  now  known  as  the  Vermilion. 

This  name  for  the  river  was  not  the  one  universally  used,  apparently,  by  the 
Indians.  It  evidently  was  a  name  given  by  the  Miamis,  alone.  In  Colonel 
George  Croghan's  journal  of  1765,  the  river  is  mentioned  by  the  same  name  it 
has  at  present,  that  of  Vermilion,  and  the  explanation  made  that  "it  is  so  called 
from  a  fine  red  earth  found  here  by  the  Indians,  with  which  they  paint 
themselves."  This  red  earth,  a  red  chalk,  generally  known  under  the  provincial 
name  of  "red  keel"  was  constantly  noticed  by  the  early  settlers,  and  is  to  be  seen 
now  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Vermilion  in  the  shales  over-laying  the  outcrop  of 
the  coal.  The  exposed  coal  taking  fire,  burns  the  shale  above,  turns  it  red  and 
makes  it  soft.  Carpenters  used  it  to  chalk  their  lines  in  early  times,  and,  time 
after  time,  successive  generations  of  boys  gathered  their  pockets  full  and  painted 
their  hands  and  faces  with  it. 

The  passion  of  the  Indian  for  paint,  and  especially  for  red  paint,  made  this 
red  earth  of  importance,  and  caused  them  to,  according  to  Croghan  in  1765,  call 
the  river  after  the  red  earth.  It  is  further  known  that  another  river  by  the 
same  name  in  the  state  has  the  same  red  earth  on  its  bluffs.  This  same  river, 
which  the  Miamis  called  the  Piankeshaw,  was  marked  on  a  map  published  in  the 
early  years  of  the  igth  Century  with  the  name  of  Red  river.  About  this  time 
English  geographies,  and  not  a  few  American  writers,  tried  to  give  this  river 
yet  another  name. 

Arrowsmith,  who  subscribes  himself  as  no  less  a  personage  than  "Geographer 
to  His  Majesty,"  lays  it  down  on  his  map  frenchified  into  " Re] dicing-] aune"  and 
in  "Emigrants  Western  Guides  for  1817,  1819  and  1821,  it  is  called  the  "Re- 
joicing" while,  in  Flint's  History  and  Geography  of  the  Western  States,  pub- 
lished in  1828,  it  is  called  the  "Rejoicing."  However,  that  name  is  forgotten; 


26  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

the  name  of  Piankeshaw  was  never  generally  used;  and  the  river  which,  is  the 
principal  one  of  this  county  and  gave  it  its  name,  remains  an  expression  of  the 
Indian's  pleasure,  and  keeps  the  spelling  of  the  Frenchman.  It  is  possible,  that 
the  name  of  "Rejoicing"  was  but  an  expression  of  the  joy  the  red  man  felt  in 
finding  the  means  of  decoration  in  the  Vermilion  earth,  and  either  name  would 
have  perpetuated  the  sentiments  of  this  people  who  had  first  possession  of  its 
waters.  A  memoir,  or  official  report  to  headquarters,  made  by  the  French 
officers  as  early  as  1718,  and  which  lay  in  the  royal  library  at  Paris,  France,  until 
transcribed  and  translated  into  English  by  J.  R.  Broadhead  under  the  authority 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  contains  matter  of  deep  interest  concerning  the  In- 
dians between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Mississippi  river.  After  speaking  of  the 
Miamis,  the  village  of  the  Ouatonon  are  described,  and  the  writer  tells  of  the 
village  by  the  name  of  Piankeshaw.  This  is  not  all  the  proof  that  this  village 
was  upon  the  site  of  present  day  Danville,  nor  the  most  convincing.  After  the 
change  in  the  government  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  in  1759,  because  of  the  defeat 
of  the  French  by  the  British  at  Quebec,  the  Indians  became  restive.  These  In- 
dians had  always  been  the  friends  of  the  French ;  no  wonder  they  were  sus- 
picious of  the  British,  who  had  ever  been  the  foe  to  their  friends.  The  British 
officers  proved  to  be  haughty  and  overbearing,  whereas  the  French  had  always 
been  kind  and  conciliatory.  The  French  had  adapted  themselves  to  the  ways 
of  the  Indians ;  had  taken  to  themselves  wives  of  the  various  tribes,  and  shared 
their  interests.  The  Englishman  was  reserved  and  selfish  and  wanted  the  land 
exclusively  for  himself. 

Pontiac  was  a  great  Chief  of  the  Ottawas,  and  was  a  man  of  great  discern- 
ment. He  saw  the  inevitable  result  of  the  coming  of  the  British  to  his  people, 
and  determined  to  make  a  bold  attempt  to  hold  the  land  for  the  red  man.  His 
plan  failed,  but  his  efforts  forced  the  British  to  conciliation  and  diplomacy. 
George  Croghan,  an  old  Indian  trader,  and  a  man  in  whom  the  Indians  had  con- 
fidence, was  sent  to  make  peace  where  force  had  failed.  George  Croghan  had 
spent  his  life  among  the  Indians,  and  was  well  versed  in  their  language  and 
ways  and  habits  of  thought.  He  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  many  of  the  chiefs  and  principal  men  of  the  Wabash  tribes  who 
had  formed  strong  attachments  toward  him.  He  was  a  veteran  up  to  all  the  arts 
of  the  Indian  Council  House  and  had  already  conducted  many  important  trea- 
ties, with  the  Shawnees,  the  Delawares  and  the  Iroquois,  further  eastward.  He 
had  fared  ill  at  the  hands  of  the  French,  whose  officers  had  captured  his  trade 
and  confiscated  his  goods.  Col.  Croghan  was  closing  a  treaty  at  Fort  Pitt  when 
he  was  sent  to  the  Indians  of  the  Wabash  Valley.  He  left  Fort  Pitt,  May  15, 
1765,  going  down  the  Ohio  with  two  bateaux.  He  floated  down  the  river  to 
Shawneetown,  where  he  halted  at  break  of  day,  June  8,  and  was  attacked  by  a 
party  of  eighty  Kickapoo  and  Musquattimes,  and  two  of  his  men  together  with 
three  Indians  were  killed ;  Croghan  himself,  was  wounded  and  carried  to  their 
village  near  Ouatonon  which  was  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  river,  be- 
tween Attica  and  La  Fayette.  The  then  went  on  foot  to  Vincennes,  where 
they  remained  several  days.  Here  Croghan  made  a  purchase  of  "some  little  ap- 
parel" for  himself  and  his  companions  and  proceeded,  still  a  prisoner,  in  com- 
pany with  his  captors,  toward  their  village.  They  crossed  the  river  at  Vin- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  27 

cennes,  and  journeyed  over  the  prairies,  their  route  from  the  description  of  the 
country  as  preserved  in  Croghan's  journal,  being,  without  doubt,  up  through 
what  is  now  Crawford,  Edgar  and  Vermilion  counties.  Quoting  from  his  journal: 
"June  17,  1765.  At  mid-day  we  set  out  from  Vincennes,  traveling  the  first 
five  miles  through  a  fine  thick  wood.  We  traveled  eighteen  miles  this  day,  and 
encamped  in  a  large,  beautiful,  well  watered  meadow. 

"18  and  19. — We  traveled  through  a  prodigious  large  meadow  called  the 
Piankeshaws'  hunting  grounds.  Here  is  no  wood  to  be  seen,  and  the  country 
appears  like  an  ocean ;  the  ground  is  exceedingly  rich,  and  partly  overgrown 
with  wild  hemp ;  the  land  is  well  watered  and  full  of  buffalo,  deer,  bears,  and 
all  kinds  of  wild  game. 

"20  and  21. — We  passed  through  some  very  large  meadows,  part  of  which 
belong  to  the  Piankeshaw,  on  the  Vermilion  river ;  the  country  and  soil  much  the 
same  as  that  we  traveled  over  these  three  days  past.  Wild  hemp  grows  here  in. 
abundance;  the  game  here  is  very  plenty;  at  any  time  in  half  an  hour,  we  kill 
as  much  as  we  wanted. 

"22. — We  passed  through  a  part  of  the  same  meadow  mentioned  yesterday; 
then  came  to  a  high  woodland  and  arrived  at  the  Vermilion  river,  so  called  from 
a  fine  red  earth  found  here  by  the  Indians,  with  which  they  paint  themselves. 
About  half  a  mile  from  where  we  crossed  the  river,  there  is  a  village  of  Pian- 
keshaws, distinguished  by  the  addition  of  the  name  of  the  river.  We  then 
traveled  through  a  high,  clear  woody  country  about  three  hours,  soil  deep  and 
rich,  then  came  to  a  meadow  and  encamped. 

"23d. — Early  in  the  morning  we  set  out  through  a  fine  meadow,  then  some 
clear  woods;  in  the  afternoon  came  into  a  large  bottom  on  the  Ouibache  (Wa- 
bash)  within  six  miles  of  Ouicatanon  (or  Ouatonons).  Here  I  met  several 
Chiefs  of  the  Kickapoos,  and  Musquattimes." 

Following  the  description  of  the  route  taken  by  Col.  Croghan  in  his  enforced 
march  from  Vincennes,  accompanied  by  his  captors,  to  their  villages  near  Ouato- 
non,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  river,  which  we  can  more  exactly  locate 
as  being  between  Attica  and  La  Fayette,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  village,  "about 
half  a  mile  from  where  we  crossed  the  river,"  and  a  three  hours'  journey 
through  "clear  high,  woody  country  and  a  further  half  days'  journey  to  reach 
the  large  bottom  on  the  Wabash"  within  six  miles  of  Ouitanon,  is  at  the  mouth 
of  the  North  Fork,  the  same  place  where  land  was  given  by  Beckwith  and  Guy- 
Smith  about  sixty  years  later,  upon  which  to  build  the  county  seat  of  Ver- 
milion County.  But  one  more  proof  of  the  identity  of  this  village  with  present- 
day  Danville  will  be  given  here. 

In  presenting  this  proof  a  study  of  the  records  of  events  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  war  of  the  Revolution  must  be  made.  Because  of  the  Conquest  of 
the  Northwest,  by  George  Rogers  Clark,  this  Wabash  Valley  was, ,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  a  part  of  a  county  of  Virginia  and  afterward  ceded  to  the  United 
States.  As  a  part  of  the  United  States  the  Federal  Government  took  charge  of 
it,  appointing  Gen.  St.  Clair  to  be  Governor,  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington upon  which  site  is  present-day  Cincinnati. 

The  Wabash  Indians  had  taken  part  with  Great  Britain  in  the  late  war,  and 
still  continued  sending  out  hostile  parties  from  this  section  of  the  country 


28  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

against  the  frontier  settlements  in  Kentucky  and  Eastern  Ohio.  Loud  com- 
plaints were  made,  and  earnest  appeals  sent  to  Governor  St.  Clair  to  have  him 
make  an  effort  to  stop  these  depredations.  To  this  end  Antoine  Gamelin,  a 
French  trader,  started  from  Vincennes,  with  speeches  addressed  by  Governor 
St.  Clair  to  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries.  These 
speeches  were  delivered  at  all  the  principal  Indian  villages  laying  near  the  Wa- 
bash, as  far  east  as  the  Miami  town  of  Kikinggan,  near  the  site  of  present- 
day  Fort  Wayne.  An  entry  in  the  journal  of  M.  Gamelin  kept  while  on  this 
embassy  of  Governor  St.  Clair,  is  of  interest  in  locating  the  Indian  village  of 
Piankeshaw. 

"After  leaving  Vincennes,"  the  journal  proceeds  "The  second  village  I  ar- 
rive at  was  at  the  River  du  Vermilion  called  Piankeshaw.  The  Chief,  and  all 
the  warriors,  were  well  pleased  with  the  speeches  concerning  the  place,  but  they 
said  they  could  not  presently  give  me  an  answer,  before  they  had  consulted  the 
Miami  Nation,  their  oldest  brethren.  It  must  be  observed  that  the  speeches  had 
been  there  in  another  hand  before  me.  The  first  messenger  could  not  proceed 
further  than  the  Vermilion,  on  account  of  some  private  wrangling  between  the 
interpreter  and  some  chief  men  of  the  tribe.  They  desired  me  to  proceed  to  the 
Miami  town  Kikinggay  and,  in  coming  back,  let  them  know  what  reception  I 
got  from  them." 

That  this  peace  mission  was  a  failure,  does  not  in  any  way  affect  the  fact 
that  such  a  mission  included  the  visit  to  this  Indian  village  of  Piankeshaw  "on 
the  River  du  Vermilion,"  and  is  proof  of  the  events  of  the  past  which  transpired 
on  the  land  now  a  part  of  Vermilion  County. 

Time  passed,  the  cruel  Kickapoos  and  stronger  Miamis  swept  over  this  village 
and,  driving  out  the  Piankeshaws,  in  turn  abandoned  all  claim  to  the  soil,  and 
Nature  did  her  best  to  win  back  to  herself,  this  place  in  the  wilderness.  A  score 
of  years  helped  in  this  work,  before  the  busy  hands  of  the  white  man  came  into 
this  wilderness,  and  pushed  it  aside  for  the  planting  of  homes  representing  a 
higher  civilization.  The  lingering  red  man  did  not  forget  to  tell  the  encroaching 
white  man  tales  of  the  pretentious  homes  of  his  race  on  this  spot.  The  Potto- 
watomies  delighted  in  telling  their  friend,  Gurdon  Hubbard,  who  himself  had 
won  relationship  with  them  through  marriage  with  one  of  their  number,  the 
stories  of  the  Piankeshaw  village,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  in  turn,  told  these  tales  to 
the  men  of  his  acquaintance,  so  that  the  picture  of  the  wigwam  in  the  place  of 
the  modern  house;  the  warriors  and  squaws  and  pappooses  in  the  place  of  the 
men  and  women  and  children ;  the  games  and  Indian  customs  in  place  of  business 
and  amusements  of  today;  becomes  a  vivid  picture. 

A  little  exercise  of  the  imagination  can  remove  all  the  houses,  streets  and 
other  signs  of  civilization  in  Danville,  can  destroy  the  bridges  over  the  Vermilion 
river  and  North  Fork.  With  the  public  square  obliterated  and  the  ground  west- 
ward showing  patches  of  hazel  and  jackoak,  of  recent  growth;  with  the  north- 
west part  of  town,  nearly  to  the  bluffs  of  North  Fork,  a  broad  meadow,  set  in 
with  blue  grass,  with  marks  of  old  corn  hills  plainly  visible  over  many;  acres  the 
picture  has  its  true  setting.  The  sky  line  along  the  river  bluffs,  silhouettes  a  line 
of  stalwart  oaks. 


OLD   ELM   IN   ELLSWORTH   PARK,   UNDER   WHICH   THE 
PIANKESHAWS  GATHERED 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  29 

Under  the  bluff  west  of  what  is  now  Logan  Avenue  and  in  the  other  bottom 
south  of  Main  street,  up  to  the  mouth  of  North  Fork,  ancient  corn-fields  also 
are  overrun  with  blue  grass.  Eastward  from  Vermilion  street,  is  a  prairie,  with 
an  occasional  stunted  bush  which  grows  for  a  season,  only  to  be  burned  to  the 
ground  by  the  autumnal  fires,  which  sweep  through  the  high  grass  each  year. 
This  is  surely  a  goodly  spot.  Sheltered  on  the  north  and  west  with  a  growth 
of  timber  its  generous  soil  lies  open  to  the  warm  summer  sun  and  rainfall.  The 
hillsides  on  the  west  and  south,  hold  numerous  springs  from  which  pure  water 
bubbles  past  mossy  beds.  People  this  attractive  spot  with  a  happy  folk.  It  is 
home  life  for  a  race  of  children  of  the  forest  who  have  not  yet  learned  to  fear 
the  white  man's  rule. 

Tall  and  lithe,  the  men  are  dressed  in  a  garment  which  extends  from  their 
waists  to  their  knees,  with  moccasins  for  feet  covering,  which  had  been  prepared 
from  the  buffalo's  hide.  In  the  winter,  leggings  decorated  with  quills  of  the  por- 
cupine stained  in  colors  of  brilliant  contrast,  together  with  blankets  give  the  de- 
sided  warmth.  The  women  wear  a  garment  which  would  be  called  at  present,  a 
one  piece  dress.  The  material  from  which  it  is  made  is  woven  from  the  soft 
wool  from1  the  buffalo's  hide,  or  is,  perhaps,  made  from  the  buffalo's  hide  itself. 
When  made  from  woven  material,  these'  garments  are  dyed  the  most  brilliant 
colors.  The  women  of  Piankeshaw  are  skilled  in  the  choice  of  material  to  make 
these  colors  and  search  the  bluffs  to  the  west  and  south,  going  sometimes  a  long 
distance,  to  find  the  root  or  leaf  or  perhaps  blossom  that  will  yield  the  desired 
shade  or  tint.  Ellsworth  Park  held  many  secrets  for  them  in  possible  coloring 
material.  The  women  decorate  their  own  moccasins  and  do  not  let  their  leggings 
go  plain.  They  are  proud  of  their  necklaces,  as  who  would  not  be,  when  their 
value  is  an  expression  of  the  time  and  care  it  took  to  find  and  assort  the  clam- 
shells and  other  hard  substances  which  comprised  them.  A  head  dress,  usually, 
is  deemed  indispensible  by  the  Piankeshaw  woman.  Petticoats  are  worn  for 
warmth  during  the  winter.  To  make  these  garments  the  nerves  and  tendons  of 
deer  are  subjected  to  a  process  that  yields  good  thread.  The  wigwams  along  the 
bluff  on  the  North  Fork  were  busy  places  when  this  thread  was  being  manu- 
factured. The  deer  was  dressed,  and  the  nerves  and  tendons  carefully  put 
aside.  They  were  exposed  to  the  sun  twice  each  day  until  they  were  in  a  state 
that,  by  beating,  they  would  separate  into  fine  hairs  or  threads.  These  threads 
were  very  strong  and  would  hold  any  garment  together. 

The  women,  beside  making  the  garments  and  doing  all  the  household  duties, 
always  carry  the  game  and  cultivate  the  soil.  The  remains  of  this  cultivation 
was  seen  in  the  corn  hills  overgrown  with  blue  grass  on  the  fields  in  the  north- 
western part  of  town  when  first  Dan  Beckwith  and  the  other  early  settlers  were 
here.  The  women  searched  the  fields,  which  now  are  the  streets  and  home  lots  of 
Danville,  for  edible  roots  and  herbs,  berries  and  any  vegetable  growth  from 
which  to  prepare  food.  Their  wooden  dishes  and  spoons  made  of  buffalo  hide, 
comprised  their  table  service. 

All  along  the  North  Fork,  from  the  present  northwestern  limit  of  Danville 
to  Main  street,  thence  along  the  banks  of  the  Vermilion  river  to  the  extreme 
limit  on  the  east,  and  extending  back  in  an  irregular  line  a  half  mile  or  more 
from  the  bluffs  of  the  two  streams,  the  homes  of  the  dwellers  of  Piankeshaw 


30  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

are  placed.  They  are  located  in  reference  to  the  numerous  springs,  which  bub- 
ble out  of  the  hillside.  These  houses  are  made  by  driving  poles  into  the  ground 
and  drawing  them  together  at  the  top,  over  which  there  is  a  mat  thrown.  This 
mat  is  made  by  the  squaws,  from  flags  they  have  gathered  from  marshy  places 
near  the  river. 

The  Piankeshaws  are  not  without  weapons  by  which  they  can  defend  them- 
selves when  danger  comes,  although  they  are  not  a  people  who  seek  war.  They 
use  both  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  the  club,  yet  they  would  rather  take  to  their 
heels  than  to  face  an  enemy,  at  any  time.  But  they  are  skillful  with  their  bows 
and  arrows,  which  they  tip  with  stones.  Although  on  the  whole,  they  are  peace- 
ful people,  sometimes  a  warrior  finds  a  wrong,  either  fancied  or  real,  which 
must  need  be  avenged,  and  he  goes  about  through  the  village  asking  one  and 
another  to  go  with  him  for  that  purpose.  When  the  time  of  starting  comes  the 
line  of  march  is  made.  One  is  chosen  to  carry  the  War  Budget. 

This  War  Budget  is  a  package  containing  something  which  belongs  to  each 
person  in  the  party  that  represents  some  wild  animal,  such  as  a  snake's  skin,  a 
buffalo's  tail,  a  wolf's  head,  a  mink's  skin  or  the  feathers  of  some  extraordinary 
bird.  This  is  called  his  corpenyomer.  This  package  is  always  considered 
sacred,  and  is  carried  in  front  in  the  march.  Under  no  circumstances  can  it  ever 
be  passed.  When  the  party  halts,  the  Budget  is  laid  on  the  ground  in  front  of 
them,  and  no  one  may  pass  it  without  orders  from  proper  authority.  The  pack- 
age must  not  be  laid  on  a  log  but  on  the  ground.  While  on  the  way  to  meet  an 
enemy,  no  one  is  permitted  to  talk  of  women.  When  on  the  way  to  meet  an 
enemy  with  the  War  Budget,  if  a  four-footed  animal  is  killed,  its  heart  must  be 
cut  into  small  pieces  and  burned  alongside  the  sacred  charge.  Care  must  always 
be  taken  never  to  step  over  fire,  when  upon  such  a  journey,  nor  around  it  in  any 
way  other  than  the  sun  travels.  When  the  enemy  is  to  be  attacked,  each  man 
takes  his  "Corpenyomer"  from  the  Budget  and  ties  it  on  his  body,  as  has  been 
directed  by  his  ancestor.  The  man  who  takes  the  first  scalp,  or  prisoner,  carries 
the  War  Budget  upon  the  return  march.  When  he  returns  to  the  village  he  will 
fasten  it  onto  his  cabin  where  it  stays  for  thirty  or  forty  nights.  The  warriors 
will  come  and  dance  about  it,  and  when  the  one  who  called  the  party  out  to  the 
war  sees  fit,  he  will  make  a  feast.  On  the  occasion  of  this  feast,  the  War  Budget 
is  opened  and  each  man  given  his  Corpenyomer.  These  "Corpenyomers"  are 
prized  highly  and  well  cared  for.  Every  month  some  men  of  the  family  sing  re- 
ligious songs  all  night,  and  leave  an  offering  of  a  piece  of  tobacco  or  a  kettle  of 
victuals.  This  feast  is  partaken  with  much  ceremony,  a  small  piece  of  food  is 
always  thrown  into  the  fire  before  any  of  it  is  eaten. 

Should  a  death  occur  in  this  village  a  ceremony  of  adoption  will  take  place 
by  the  grief  stricken  relatives.  The  nearest  relatives  will  fast  and  black  their 
faces  in  token  of  respect. 

Great  care  is  taken  in  training  future  citizens  of  this  first  village  on  the  site 
of  Danville.  The  children  are  given  tasks  calculated  to  develop  courage  and 
self  restraint.  After  childhood  is  passed,  a  bath  in  cold  water  each  day  is  re- 
quired and  fasting  from  time  to  time,  in  accordance  with  the  strength  of  the 
individual.  When  he  is  eighteen  years  old,  the  boy  goes  into  a  long  fast,  with 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  31 

his  face  blackened,  under  the  conviction  that  should  he  eat  while  his  face  is 
blackened,  the  Great  Spirit  would,  in  some  way,  punish  him. 

The  moon  which  shines  upon  the  maid  and  her  lover  in  the  beginning  of  the 
2Oth  Century,  as  brightly  shone  upon  the  same  spot  when  the  dusky  belle  of  a 
hundred  odd  years  listened  to  the  wooing  of  her  fond  young  brave.  The  wed- 
ding ceremony  of  those  of  Piankeshaw  was,  however  more  simple.  The  parents 
of  the  youth  selected  the  bride  and  presents  were  sent  to  her.  If  she  accepted 
him,  then  her  parents  dressed  her  in  her  best  and,  procuring  a  suitable  present 
for  him,  sent  her  to  his  cabin,  as  they  called  the  wigwams.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
she  did  not  like  him,  and  refused  him,  the  presents  were  sent  back,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  it.  Life  was  gay,  at  this  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork, 
so  long  ago.  Dances,  and  games  were  the  order  for  the  youth  and  the  Braves. 

These  people  were  not  without  knowledge  of  the  white  man.  A  letter  writ- 
ten by  M.  De  Longuell,  the  French  Commandant  at  Detroit,  to  his  superior 
officer  at  Quebec  in  1752,  states  that,  prior  to  1750,  there  were  French  traders 
established  on  the  Vermilion;  that  English  traders  persisted  in  trading  here 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  predecessors  had  been  driven  off,  two  years  before. 
This  letter  goes  on  to  say  that  Father  De  La  Richardu,  a  French  Catholic  Mis- 
sionary, had  wintered  here.  A  possible  tragedy  is  also  on  record  of  the  murder 
of  some  Frenchmen  at  a  point  which  seems  might  have  been  Piankeshaw.  So  it 
is,  the  old  story  of  man's  life,  of  his  loves  and  his  hates,  his  efforts  to  higher  im- 
pulses and  his  degredation,  his  pleasures  and  his  distresses,  all  were  here  at  the 
time  of  the  possession  of  the  red  man,  as  now,  when  his  white  brother  lives  in 
the  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork.  The  Piankeshaws  are  gone ;  the  race 
has  been  scattered  and  almost  destroyed;  the  white  man  dominates  the  Vermil- 
ion river,  the  town  of  Piankeshaw  has  given  place  to  that  of  Danville  but  human 
nature  is  the  same  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  and  doubtless  the  people  of  to- 
day, do  not  differ  so  much  from  those  of  yesterday,  despite  the  changed  condi- 
tions of  race  and  mode  of  living. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
GOVERNMENT  OF  THIS  SECTION  PRIOR  TO  1819. 

HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  ANTEDATES  ITS  ORGANIZATION FIRST  GOVERN- 
MENT, THAT  OF  FRANCE THE  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA OF  LOUISIANA:  WHERE 

WAS  THE  DIVIDING  LINE? THE  SEATS  OF  GOVERNMENT  FOR  DWELLERS  IN 

WHAT  IS  NOW  VERMILION  COUNTY A  PART  OF  THE  BRITISH  DOMAIN THE 

ILLINOIS  COUNTY  OF  VIRGINIA SEAT  OF  GOVERNMENT   AT  KASKASKIA THE 

NORTHWEST   TERRITORY;   SEAT   OF  GOVERNMENT,    MARIETTE,   OHIO INDIANA 

TERRITORY;  SEAT  OF  GOVERNMENT,  VINCENNES — ILLINOIS  TERRITORY;  SEAT 
OF  GOVERNMENT,  KASKASKIA THE  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ILLINOIS VERMIL- 
ION COUNTY  A  PART  OF  SIX  DIFFERENT  COUNTIES,  WITH  AS  MANY  SEATS  OF 
GOVERNMENT. 

Authentic  history  of  Vermilion  County  antedates  its  organization,  as  such, 
and  even  its  exploration  and  settlement  by  white  men,  by  a  century  and  a  half. 

This  is  the  case  because  this  section  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  although  but  a 
wilderness,  and  the  homes  and  hunting  grounds  of  the  Miamis  and  Pottowat- 
omie  Indians,  yet  was  a  part  of  the  great  tract  claimed  by  France,  and  governed 
by  representatives  of  that  European  power.  From  1682  to  1763,  this  section 
was  a  part  of  New  France. 

Now,  New  France  extended  from  Quebec  to  New  Orleans,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  divide  it  for  administrative  purposes,  so  two  provinces  were  made. 
The  northern  province  was  that  of  Canada,  with  the  capital  at  Quebec,  and  the 
Southern  province  was  called  Louisiana,  and  its  capital  was  New  Orleans. 

At  one  time,  prior  to  1745,  the  dividing  line  ran  diagonally  across  what  is  now 
Vermilion  County,  in  Illinois,  thus  making  a  part  of  it  in  one  province  and  a 
part  of  it  in  the  other,  with  the  two  capitals  as  far  apart  as  Montreal  and  Fort 
Chartres.  This  division  line  began  on  the  Wabash  river  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Vermilion  river.  It  followed  the  course  of  the  Vermilion  river  northwest, 
thence  in  the  same  direction  to  old  Fort  St.  Louis.  The  site  of  this  old  fort  is 
now  known  as  Starved  Rock,  near  Ottawa,  in  La  Salle  County.  All  south  of 
this  dividing  line  was  the  Province  of  Louisiana,  while  all  north  of  it  was  the 
Province  of  Canada.  The  seat  of  government  of  the  Canada  Province  was  Mon- 
treal, and  later,  the  Post  of  Detroit,  while  that  of  the  Louisiana  Province  was  at 
Fort  Chartres,  on  the  Mississippi  river. 

Two  men,  living  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Vermilion  river  (as  at  Danville  and 
South  Danville),  at  this  time,  would  be  obliged  to  travel  many  miles,  the  one  to 

32 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  33 

the  northeast  and  the  other  to  the  southwest  to  transact  any  legal  business.  This 
dividing  line  ran  diagonally  across  Vermilion  County  as  it  is  now  known,  cut- 
ting it  into  two  very  nearly  equal  parts. 

Since  only  Indians  and  the  occasional  "Cour  de  Bois"  were  to  be  found  in 
this  far  away  part  of  New  France,  such  an  inconvenience  was  no  hardship. 

After  the  French  and  Indian  war  of  1763,  New  France  was  ceded  to  Great 
Britain,  and  this  section,  now  known  as  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  became  a 
part  of  the  British  Domain.  For  some  fifteen  years  its  government  was  vested 
in  an  organization  or  board,  known  as  the  "Lord's  Commissioners  of  the  Council 
of  Trade  and  Plantations,"  or  "Lords  of  Trade."  Kaskaskia,  the  French  town, 
located  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia  river,  and  not  far  from  Fort  Chartres, 
was  the  seat  of  this  government.  The  British  had  been  obliged  to  abandon  Fort 
Chartres,  and  garrison  Fort  Gage,  at  Kaskaskia.  British  rule  ended  at  the 
end  of  a  decade  and  a  half.  It  was  during  the  Revolutionary  war  that  George 
Rogers  Clark,  himself  a  citizen  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  captured  this  fort  and. 
when  peace  was  declared  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies,  this  territory 
was  ceded  to  Virginia  and  became,  for  the  time  being,  the  Illinois  County  of 
Virginia. 

The  government  which  followed  was  by  a  representative  called  a  County 
Lieutenant.  The  seat  of  government  was  retained  at  Kaskaskia.  This  did  not 
last  long.  In  1809  another  division  was  made  and  Illinois  Territory  was  formed. 

Illinois  Territory  had,  as  its  eastern  border,  the  Wabash  river,  as  far  as  Vin- 
cennes,  thence  north  by  a  straight  line  to  Lake  Michigan ;  its  western  border  was 
the  Mississippi  river  which  was,  at  that  time,  the  western  border  of  the  United 
States.  The  southern  border  of  the  Illinois  Territory  was  the  Ohio  river  and  its 
northern  border  was  the  British  Possession  of  Canada.  Its  seat  of  government 
was  again  at  Kaskaskia. 

This  division  threw  this  section  into  the  Illinois  Territory,  with  its  seat  of 
government,  as  it  had  been  before,  over  on  the  Mississippi  river. 

Nine  years  later  the  Illinois  Territory  was  admitted  into  the  Union  with  the 
same  eastern,  southern  and  western  boundaries,  and  42  degrees,  30  minutes,  as 
its  northern  boundary.  This  act  mlade  the  section  in  whose  government  we  are 
interested,  a  part  of  that  commonwealth. 

During  all  this  time,  this  section  was  yet  the  possession  of  the  redman  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  wedge  which  is  in  what  is  now  Love  Township.  This 
wedge  of  land  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  government  through  the 
efforts  of  William  Henry  Harrison  the  same  year  as  that  in  which  Illinois  Terri- 
tory was  established,  and  it  has  always  been  known  as  the  "Harrison  Purchase." 

The  power  of  the  Miami  Nation  had  been  broken,  Piankeshaw  had  been 
devastated,  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottowatomies  had  driven  the  earlier  proprietors 
away,  yet  the  white  man  had  not  yet  gained  possession.  The  proud  Miamis 
relinquished  their  claim  to  their  conquerors  late  in  the  i8th  Century,  but  it  was 
not  until  after  Illinois  became  a  state,  that  the  Pottowatomies  made  a  treaty  with 
the  United  States  in  which  they  ceded  their  land.  'A  description  of  their  land 
which  they  ceded  at  this  time  reads  as  follows : — "Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tippecanoe  river  and  running  up  the  same  to  a  point  twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  Wabash  river;  thence  on  a  line  as  nearly  parallel  to  the  general 


34  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

course  of  the  Wabash  river  as  is  practicable,  to  a  point  on  the  Vermilion  river 
twenty-five  miles  from  the  Wabash  river;  thence  down  the  Vermilion  river  to  its 
mouth;  thence  up  the  Wabash  river  to  the  place  of  beginning."  At  the  same 
time  the  United  States  agreed  to  purchase  any  just  claim  which  the  Kickapoos 
might  have  to  any  part  of  the  ceded  country  below  Pine  creek. 

The  next  year  the  Kickapoos,  by  the  treaty  at  Edwardsville,  July  18,  1819, 
ceded  a  large  section  of  country  between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  rivers,  includ- 
ing that  ceded  by  the  Pottowatomies. 

Immediately  following  this  treaty  at  Edwardsville,  another  one  was  con- 
cluded at  Fort  Harrison,  on  August  30,  1819,  between  the  United  States  and  that 
particular  tribe,  or  band  who,  in  this  treaty  describe  themselves  as  "The  chiefs, 
warriors  and  the  head  men  of  the  tribe  of  Kickapoos  of  the  Vermilion,"  to  the 
end  that  the  United  States  might  be  enabled  to  fix  a  boundary  between  the 
claims  of  other  Indians  and  these  Kickapoos.  The  claim  was  further  described 
as  follows: — "Beginning  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Vincennes  tract,  thence 
westerly  to  the  boundary  established  by  a  treaty  with  the  Piankeshaws  on  the 
3Oth  of  December,  1805,  to  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  the  embrass 
and  the  Little  Wabash ;  thence  by  the  said  ridge  to  the  source  of  the  Vermilion 
river;  thence  by  the  said  ridge  to  the  head  of  Pine  creek;  thence  by  said  creek 
to  the  Wabash  river;  thence  by  the  said  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion 
river,  and  thence  by  the  Vermilion  and  the  boundary  heretofore  established,  to 
the  place  of  beginning." 

Beginning  with  this  year  (1818)  the  section,  which  is  now  Vermilion  County, 
became  a  county  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  This  form  of  government  lasted  four 
years;  then  camje  the  readjustment  at  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut  and  New  York  all  laid  claim  to  parts  of  the  territory 
saved  from  the  British  by  Clark,  which  lay  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  due 
concessions  had  to  be  made  by  these  states  as  well  as  by  Virginia,  before  congress 
could  provide  for  the  government  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  In  1787,  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  Congress  which  made  this  provision.  The  seat  of  government 
of  the  Northwest  Territory  was  located  at  Marietta,  Ohio. 

General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  appointed  governor  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory. The  section  now  included  in  Vermilion  County  remained  a  part  of  the 
Northwestern  Territory  for  fourteen  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  Ohio 
Territory  was  formed,  which  took  a  part  of  this  Northwest  Territory  leaving 
that  part  which  now  is  known  as  the  states  of  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin,  and  this  was  called  the  Indiana  Territory.  General  William  Henry 
Harrison  was  appointed  governor,  and  the  seat  of  government  was  located  at 
Vincennes,  and  this  section  had  its  capital  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Since  Illinois  became  a  commonwealth  that  year,  Vermilion  County,  with  no 
longer  any  power  vested  in  the  Indians,  although  they  had  not  yet  left  this  sec- 
tion, became  a  legally  bound  territory,  subject  to  laws  and  regulations  of  the 
state.  The  resources  were  many  and  varied.  The  two  great  commodities  so 
much  in  demand,  salt  and  furs,  were  to  be  found  in  plenty  inside  its  boundary. 
The  Vermilion  Salines  were  well  known  and  yielded  enough  salt  to  supply  the 
region  at  a  fair  price.  After  having  had  the  many  and  various  forms  of  govern- 
ment, while  as  yet  this  section  was  not  known,  as  it  is  now,  to  be  Vermilion 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  35 

County,  but  was  yet  a  small  part  of  Clark  County,  it  was  under  the  control  of 
the  laws  of  the  state,  and,  as  such,  in  1819,  had  fixed  obligations  to  the  same 
government  that  it  has  now. 

After  1790,  this  section  had  been  a  part  of,  first,  Knox  County  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  then  partly  Knox  and  partly  St.  Clair  County  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  then  St.  Clair,  Madison,  Edwards,  and  Crawford  Counties  of  the 
Illinois  Territory ;  then  a  part  of  Clark  County  during  the  first  two  years  of  state- 
hood of  Illinois,  to  at  last  become  what  it  is  now,  Vermilion  County. 


CHAPTER  V. 
EXPLORING  THE  VERMILION  RIVER  FOR  SALT. 

INDIAN    TREATIES    DETERMINE    THE    EXPLORATION    OF    THE    VERMILION    RIVER    FOR 

SALT — SALT    THE    DEMAND    OF    THE    EARLY     igTH    CENTURY JOSEPH    BARRON's 

KNOWLEDGE    OF    THE    SALT     SPRINGS    ON     THE    VERMILION THE     NORTH     ARM 

PRAIRIE  THE  NEAREST  INHABITED  SPOT SUPPOSED  ROUTE  OF  THE  FIRST  EXPLOR- 
ING PARTY KNOWN   ROUTE  OF   SECOND  EXPLORING  PARTY. 

The  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  toward  the  white  mian  was  a  reason  that 
kept  the  section  now  known  as  Vermilion  County  from  being  settled  until  almost 
a  score  of  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  iQth  Century. 

Until  1819,  when  the  two  important  treaties  were  made  which  ended  the 
power  of  the  red  man  in  eastern  Illinois,  this  hostility  was  carried  to  such  lengths 
that  it  was  impossible  for  settlement  to  be  made,  and  indeed  no  explorations 
were  attempted.  This,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  great  demand  of  the  times 
was  salt,  and  there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  could  be  found  on  the 
Vermilion  river. 

This  territory  was  a  vast  unknown  region  excepting  to  the  Indian,  and 
through  him  to  the  trader  and  woodsman.  One  man  in  particular,  had  for 
eighteen  years  known  of  the  existence  of  salt  in  this  region,  but  had  made  no 
haste  to  take  advantage  of  this  knowledge  without  doubt  being  kept  from  doing 
so  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the  redman.  This  was  Joseph  Barron,  the  man 
who  was  for  years  the  interpreter  for  Governor,  afterward  General  and  at  last 
President  Harrison.  It  has  been  recorded  of  Joseph  Barron  that  he  could  un- 
derstand and  speak  all  the  dialects  used  by  the  Indians  of  the  Wabash  Valley. 
He  had  acquaintance  with  all  those  who  hunted  in  or  claimed  the  lands  watered 
by  the  Wabash  river  and  all  its  tributaries.  He  had  learned  from  the  Indians 
of  a  place  on  the  Vermilion  river  where  there  were  valuable  salt  springs,  and  had 
even  visited  the  place  in  company  with  them,  but  had  let  nearly  a  score  of  years 
pass  since  that  visit.  His  delay  of  eighteen  years  in  securing  these  springs  tells 
the  condition  of  the  attitude  of  the  Indians  to  the  white  man  more  forcefully 
than  could  many  words. 

The  fact  of  the  certainty  of  valuable  salt  springs  on  the  Vermilion  may  have 
been  a  strong  reason  for  the  treaties  made  with  the  Pottowatomies,  and  the 
Kickapoos,  the  one  in  July,  1819,  and  the  other  in  August,  of  the  same  year. 
However  that  might  have  been,  the  treaty  was  hardly  concluded  at  Fort  Har- 
rison when  Joseph  Barron  organized  an  expedition  to  explore  the  Vermilion  river 

36 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  37 

in  search  of  salt.  This  expedition  was  planned  quietly,  and  only  a  few  people 
were  aware  of  its  arrangement.  Barren  and  his  friends  were  at  Fort  Harrison 
and  that  was  their  starting  point.  He  knew  the  direction  in  which  these  springs 
were,  and  the  way  was  neither  a  long  nor  a  dangerous  one. 

The  Indians  had  made  their  treaties  and  the  wild  beasts  were  not  so  num'erous 
that  they  would  make  a  well  armed  man  fearful.  Barren  knew  the  way,  and 
each  man  chosen  to  go  with  him  was  fearless  and  enured  to  hardships. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  route  chosen,  and  there  is  no  certainty  that  they 
went  by  water ;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that,  being  at  Fort  Harrison,  they 
came  in  canoes  up  the  Wabash  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river,  thence 
up  that  stream  to  the  Salt  Fork,  and  found  the  salt  springs  without  trouble. 

There  arose  a  necessity  sometime  later  for  an  affidavit  covering  the  time 
of  this  expedition,  and  the  personnel  of  this  party,  and  the  exact  date  of  their 
arrival  at  the  springs  so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  on  any  of  these  points.  This 
record  is  filed  in  the  archives  at  Springfield.  This  party  consisted  of  four  white 
men  and  as  many  Shawnee  Indians.  Two  of  these  men  were  Frenchmen,  pos- 
sibly Indian  traders  who  shared  the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the  salt  springs 
with  Barren.  Their  names  were  Lambert  Bona  and  Zachariah  Shecott,  as  the 
justice  of  the  peace  spelled  it.  This  spelling  doubtless  should  be  Cicott.  The 
other  man  beside  Barron  was  named  Truman  Blackman,  and  was  an  unfortu- 
nate choice  of  Barren's. 

Assuming  that  the  route  chosen  was  by  water,  it  is  not  a  difficult  thing  to 
form  the  picture  of  this  exploring  expedition  into  the  unknown  region  in  which 
are  now  the  familiar  homes  of  the  dwellers  in  Vermilion  County.  These  four 
white  men,  together  with  the  four  Indians,  began  the  ascent  of  the  Wabash  river 
in  canoes.  The  Indians  had  been  hired  by  Barron  to  go  "with  him  to  show  him 
minerals  and  salt  springs,  etc.,"  but  the  white  men  were  interested  in  the  ex- 
ploration to  find  what  they  did  not  already  know.  They  paddled  their  canoes 
up  the  Wabash  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river  through  a  country 
which  was  more  or  less  familiar  to  all. 

Barron,  and  probably  the  Frenchmen,  had  all  passed  that  way  before,  and, 
for  that  matter,  had  some  knowledge  of  the  Vermilion  river,  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  think  that  Truman  Blackman  had  any  idea  of  the  salt  springs  or  any 
thing  else  on  the  unexplored  Vermilion,  These  canoes  paddled  up  the  Wabash 
river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion,  and  the  white  men  found  themselves  in  the 
country  of  the  redman  now  shorn  of  his  power.  The  old  Kickapoo  village  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river  was  forsaken,  and  the  very  trees  and  stones  spoke 
desertion.  Passing  that,  these  explorers  paddled  up  the  river  between  densely 
wooded  banks.  The  now  highly  valued  farm  lands  and  villages  were  at  that 
time  vast  stretches  of  unbroken  prairies  beyond  banks  of  the  stream  whose 
shallow  waters  they  were  paddling.  All  was  silence,  save  the  cry  of  the  wild 
beast  or  the  call  of  some  bird  to  its  mate.  On  they  went,  dipping  paddles  into 
the  placid  waters  which  had  seldom  reflected  the  image  of  a  white  man.  Up  the 
course  of  the  river  they  continued  their  way,  passing  the  site  of  present-day  Dan- 
ville. The  old  Indian  village  of  Piankeshaw  had  completely  disappeared;  the 
high  bluffs  to  the  south  were  densely  covered  with  trees  and  wild  vines ;  the  call 
of  the  quail,  the  flash  of  the  goldenrod,  and  purple  aster  in  the  distance,  the 


38  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

hazy  sunlight  of  the  Indian  summer  day,  and  the  dipping  of  paddles  in  the  water, 
filled  the  air,  which  had  echoed  the  Indian  war-whoop,  and  was  to  be  filled  with 
the  sound  of  the  traffic  of  today. 

Wild  turkeys  were  stalking  about  and  wild  waterfowl  were  at  the  edge  of  the 
river;  wild  beasts  were  at  the  bank  of  the  North  Fork  quenching  their  thirst; 
but  all  these  attracted  little  interest  or  attention  of  the  men  as  they  paddled 
past  its  mouth,  bent  upon  the  discovery  of  the  much  desired  salt  springs  which 
they  knew  were  not  very  far  distant.  No  dust,  no  smoke,  no  sound  of  building 
suggested  the  city  which  a  half  hundred  years  later  would  skirt  its  banks. 
This  densely  wooded  tract  might  have  held  their  interest  as  a  haunt  of  fur-bearing 
animals,  but  for  the  more  to  be  desired  hope  of  wealth  in  the  Salines  beyond. 

This  was  a  time  when  interest  in  the  finding  of  salt  was  particularly  keen, 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  Illinois  legislature  had  but  recently  passed  a  bill  mak- 
ing a  liberal  law  to  encourage  the  discovery  and  development  of  saline  water.  By 
the  terms  of  this  law,  any  person  who  made  such  a  discovery  had  the  exclusive 
right  to  manufacture  salt  within  a  given  time  and  area.  These  explorers  did  not 
stop  until  their  destination  was  reached.  Passing  up  the  big  Vermilion  after 
they  had  passed  the  deserted  Indian  villages  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork,  the 
long  past  Piankeshaw,  they  proceeded  through  a  less  wide  channel  to  the  Kicka- 
poo  village  once  prosperous  and  active,  now  destroyed  by  the  hand  of  the 
white  man,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Middle  Fork  and  Salt  Fork  where 
they  formed  the  Vermilion. 

Here  all  was  desolation.  Unlike  the  old  Piankeshaw,  this  village  had  been  so 
recently  the  home  of  a  living  people  that  evidences  of  severed  ties  were  yet  visi- 
ble. The  once  cultivated  corn  field  was  yet  partially  enclosed  with  a  tumbled 
down  fence.  Weeds  rankled  where  formerly  the  Indian  squaw  had  hoed  her 
corn  and  squashes.  All  was  desolate.  All  the  land  marks  were  found  that  Bar- 
ren remembered,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  further  the  springs,  themselves,  were 
found  as  he  expected.  In  his  affidavit  he  locates  these  springs  as  situated  on  the 
the  Big  Vermilion  river,  on  the  north  side,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  above 
the  old  Kickapoo  town,  and  about  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  from  the  Big  Wabash 
River.  This  same  affidavit  gives  the  22nd  day  of  September,  1819,  as  the  day 
he  reached  these  salt  springs.  Having  discovered  the  source  of  saline  water, 
these  men  returned  to  Fort  Harrison. 

In  reality  it  was  these  men  who  discovered  this  section  of  country  and  it  is 
Joseph  Barren  to  whom  the  people  of  this  territory  are  indebted  for  the  discov- 
ery. It  was  only  through  the  treachery  of  one  of  his  companions  that  Barren 
was  kept  from  becoming  the  first  settler  as  well. 

Truman  Blackman  betrayed  his  leader  in  this  manner:  After  his  return 
to  Fort  Harrison,  he  organized  a  party  without  the  knowledge  or  sanction  of 
Barren,  and  went  back  to  take  possession  and  claim  the  discovery  of  these 
springs.  The  party  thus  formed  comprised  Truman  Blackman,  his  brother,  Re- 
member Blackman,  George  Beckwith,  Seymour  Treat,  Peter  Allen,  Francis  Whit- 
comb  and  probably  Dan  Beckwith.  At  least  Dan  Beckwith  was  one  of  the 
party  immediately  after,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  went  with  them.  The  two 
Beckwiths  did  not  start  with  the  others  from  Fort  Harrison,  but  joined  them  on 
the  way  at  Jonathan  Mayo's  on  the  North  Arm  prairie  where  they  were  living. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  39 

There  is  no  question  which  route  this  second  party  took,  for  they  went  by  land 
and  probably  were  the  first  white  men,  unless  perhaps  traders,  who  explored  the 
land  route  through  this  country. 

Blackman's  party  crossed  the  Wabash  river  at  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek  and 
went  in  a  northwest  course  through  the  timber  and  prairies,  keeping  the  direc- 
tion with  a  small  pocket  compass,  until  they  arrived  at  a  stream  supposed  to  be 
the  Big  Vermillion,  about  twenty-five  miles,  they  inferred,  from  the  Wabash 
river.  Here  they  camped  on  October  3ist,  1819.  Captain  Blackman  pointed  out 
a  smooth  spot  of  low  grass  ground  from  twenty  to  thirty  rods  across  where  he 
said  there  was  salt  water.  Further  investigation  proved  he  was  correct,  and  once 
more  the  Vermilion  Salines  were  discovered. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  VERMILION  SALINES. 

SALT   WAS  ANXIOUSLY  SOUGHT   BY   EARLY   EXPLORERS THE   SALINES  OF   SOUTHERN 

ILLINOIS SUPPOSED    TO     HAVE    BEEN     WORKED     BY     A     PREHISTORIC     PEOPLE — 

JOSEPH  BARRON,  FOR  MANY  YEARS  GOVERNOR  HARRISON'S  INTERPRETER,  VISITED 

THE  VERMILION   SALINES  IN    l8oi AGAIN  AT  THE  SAME  PLACE  IN    1819  WITH 

A   PARTY  TO   EXPLORE  IT  TO   AFTERWARD  WORK  THE   SPRINGS SECOND   EXPEDI-l 

TION    TO   THE    SPRINGS    ORGANIZED   WITHOUT    KNOWLEDGE    OF    BARRON LITTLE 

EVIDENCE    OF    ANY    PREVIOUS    ATTEMPT    TO    WORK    THE    SPRINGS    TO    PROFIT 

BLACKMAN    TOOK   LEASE    IN    HIS   OWN    NAME DIFFERENCES   AMONG    CONFLICT- 
ING CLAIMANTS    SETTLED    IN    l822 JOHN    W.    VANCE   LEASED  THE   SALINES    IN 

1824  AND  WORKED  THEM  TO  PROFIT EVIDENCES  OF  EARLY  USE  OF  SALINES. 

The  discovery  of  salt  in  Southern  Illinois  was  a  great  factor  in  attracting  im- 
migration to  the  territory,  in  the  beginning  of  the  igth  Century.  The  scarcity 
of  that  commodity  at  this  time  is  evidenced  in  a  book  published  in  1796,  where 
the  statement  is  made  that  "there  was  no  salt  to  be  had  west  of  the  mountains, 
excepting  at  Marietta,  and  what  is  for  sale  here  is  brought  over  the  mountains,  on 
pack  horses,  and  is  sold  for  sixteen  cents  a  pound." 

The  earliest  known  settlement  on  the  Saline  river  in  Southern  Illinois,  was 
made  in  1800,  or  at  latest  date,  in  1802.  They  found  abundant  evidence  of  some 
one  having  made  salt  before  their  coming,  but  who,  and  at  what  time,  was  more 
difficult  to  determine.  Many  have  been  inclined  to  the  theory  that  salt  was  man- 
ufactured in  southern  Illinois  by  a  people  whose  history  antedates  that  of  the 
tribes  who  inhabited  this  country  at  the  coming  of  the  Europeans.  As  evidence 
of  this  idea,  the  pottery  found  by  the  early  settler  could  be  explained  in  no  more 
satisfactory  way  than  to  assume  it  had  been  used  in  this  work. 

This  pottery  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  moulded  in  a  basket,  or  frame 
work,  which  has  left  its  impression  on  the  outside  of  the  article.  Some  are  in- 
clined to  the  belief  however,  that  the  pottery  was  moulded  on  the  outside  of  a 
mold,  and  that  the  impressions  were  made  by  wrapping  coarse  cloth  around  the 
vessels  as  they  were  lifted  off  the  mold.  This  same  pottery,  or  salt  pans,  was 
found  in  abundance  both  in  and  around  the  salt  works  of  Illinois  and  Missouri, 
near  St.  Genevieve.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  salt  springs,  wells  and  licks,  on 
the  Saline  river  in  Gallatin  county,  were  operated  by  the  Indians  and  French  for 
many  years  previous  to  the  coming  of  the  English  about  1800.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  French  understood  the  salt  making  process ;  and  the  Indians  no  doubt,  knew 

40 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  41 

where  the  springs  and  licks  were.  An  Englishman  writing  to  the  Earl  of  Hills- 
boro  in  1770,  in  speaking  of  the  region  around  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  and 
Saline  rivers,  mentioned  the  abundance  of  salt  springs  in  that  region.  In  another 
description  of  the  region  of  the  Wabash  the  writer  says :  "The  Wabash  abounds 
with  salt  springs,  and  any  quantity  of  salt  may  be  made  from  them  in  a  manner 
now  done  in  the  Illinois  country."  This  was  in  1778,  twenty-two  years  before 
the  coming  of  the  English  to  these  salt  works. 

The  earliest  reference  in  the  west  to  salt  making  to  be  found  in  state  papers 
is  in  the  law  of  May  18,  1796.  In  an  act  of  this  date  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the 
surveyors,  working  for  the  United  States  and  making  surveys  in  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  "to  observe  closely  for  mines,  salt,  salt  springs  and 
salt  licks  and  mill  seats." 

In  the  winter  of  1799  and  1800,  Wm.  Henry  Harrison  was  the  delegate  in 
Congress  from  the  territory  of  the  northwest.  In  his  report  Mr.  Harrison  says : 
"Upon  inquiry  we  find  that  salt  springs  and  salt  licks  are  operated  by  individ- 
uals, and  timber  is  being  wasted.  Therefore  we  recommend  that  salt  springs 
and  salt  licks,  property  of  the  United  States,  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio,  ought  to  be  leased  for  a  term  of  years."  No  definite  action  was  taken 
upon  this  by  Congress.  Upon  March  3,  1803,  Congress  authorized  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  lease  the  salt  springs  and  licks  for  the  benefit  of  the  govern- 
ment. It  was  in  June  of  this  same  year  that  Harrison  made  the  treaty  at  Fort 
Wayne,  whereby  he  made  the  purchase  of  land,  a  portion  of  which  is  in  what  is 
now  Vermilion  County,  known  as  the  "Harrison  Purchase."  This  was  two  years 
after  Joseph  Barren,  Harrison's  interpreter,  visited  the  Vermilion  Salines. 

That  same  summer  Governor  Harrison  leased  the  Southern  Salines  to  a 
Captain  Bell,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky.  By  an  act  of  Congress  March  26,  1804, 
all  salt  springs,  wells  and  licks,  with  the  necessary  land  adjacent  thereto,  were 
reserved  from  sale  as  the  property  of  the  United  States.  The  Territorial  Gov- 
ernor was  authorized  to  lease  these  salt  wells  and  springs,  to  the  best  advantage 
of  the  government.  During  all  this  time  the  salt  to  be  found  on  the  Vermilion 
was  not  accessible  because  of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  who  lived  along  the 
banks.  The  Kickapoos  had  a  large  village  near  where  the  wells  were  afterwards 
dug.  The  treaty  of  August,  1819,  however,  extinguished  the  Indian  titles  to 
these  lands,  and  the  search  for  salt  was  begun. 

That  the  presence  of  salt  was  known  at  that  time  is  beyond  question,  because 
of  an  affidavit  made  by  Joseph  Barren  to  the  effect  that  he  was,  himself,  at  the 
"Vermilion  Salines"  as  early  as  the  year  1801. 

But  there  is  another  and  even  better  proof  of  the  fact  that  the  springs 
were  known  to  be  found  in  a  letter  written  by  Shadrach  Bond,  who  was  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  of  Illinois  at  that  time.  The  letter  was  written  to  Wm.  H. 
Crawford  and  reads  as  follows: 

KASKASKIA,  April  3,  1819. 
To  the  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Crawford, 

SIR  : — It  is  ascertained  that  there  are  valuable  Salt  Springs  upon  sections  22 
and  23  in  township  2,  N.  of  R.  7  E.  of  the  3rd,  principal  meridian  in  this  state 
and  (since  the  titles,  for  all  Salt  Springs  together  with  land  reserved  for  the 
use  of  the  same  within  this  state  have  been  granted  to  the  state),  I  have  the  honor 


42  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

to  request  that  the  usual  quantity  of  land  may  be  reserved  for  the  use  of  the 
springs  upon  the  afore  mentioned  sections  and  as  contiguous  thereto  as  may  be. 
I  have  the  honor,  etc. 

SHADRACH  BOND. 

P.  S.  At  the  request  of  Judge  Towle  I  send  the  enclosed  certificate.  This 
letter  which,  it  will  be  noticed  bears  date  of  April  3,  1819,  shows  knowledge  of 
the  salt  springs  antedating  the  exploration  of  the  Vermilion  river  by  Barron 
and  his  company  when  they  reached  the  springs  September  22,  1819. 

Barren's  long  connection  with  General  Harrison  was  such,  that  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  springs  been  had,  it  would  have  been  his  as  well.  Barron  was 
Harrison's  interpreter  and  was  well  versed  in  all  the  dialects  spoken  by  the  In- 
dian tribes  who  lived,  hunted  or  claimed  to  own  the  lands  watered  by  the  Wa- 
bash  river  and  the  streams  flowing  into  it. 

The  extreme  hostility  of  these  Indians  can  be  understood  in  no  way  better 
than  by  the  fact  that,  in  spite  of  the  interest  shown  by  General  Harrison  in 
other  salt  springs,  these  on  the  Vermilion  were  left  alone.  The  positive  previous 
knowledge  of  these  springs  is  proven  by  the  above  quoted  letter  and  again  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  less  than  a  month  after  the  treaty  was  made  that  Mr.  Barron 
was  again  on  the  spot  prepared  to  locate  them.  He  took  with  him  three  white 
men  and  two  Shawnee  Indians  whom  he  (Barron)  had  hired  to  show  him  min- 
erals, etc.  Whether  he  took  the  white  men  to  help  him,  or  was  going  to  share 
the  profits  of  the  expedition,  is  a  little  uncertain  from  the  text  of  the  affidavit  on 
record.  This  affidavit,  after  making  oath  of  his  going  to  the  salines  in  1801, 
goes  on  to  state  that  he  was  again  at  the  same  "salt  spring  situated  on  the  Big 
Vermilion  river,  on  the  north  side,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  above  the  old 
Kickapoo  town,  and  about  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  from  the  Big  Wabash  river, 
in  the  county  of  Clark,  state  of  Illinois,  on  the  226.  day  of  September,  1819,  in 
company  with  Lambert  Bona,  Zachariah  Cicott,  and  Truman  Blackman,  together 
with  four  Shawnee  Indians  whom  I  had  hired  to  go  with  me  and  show  me  the 
minerals,  salt  springs,  etc. 

This  party  duly  located  the  springs  and  returned  to  Fort  Harrison  that  Bar- 
ron might  make  the  necessary  record  of  the  discovery.  A  recent  law  of  Illi- 
nois gave  the  discoverer  of  salines  the  right  to  manufacture  salt  within  a  given 
area.  While  Barron  was  perfecting  his  arrangements,  Captain  Blackman  or- 
ganized another  party  to  go  on  an  expedition  to  these  springs  and  take  the  credit 
of  the  discovery  already  made.  This  expedition  was  kept  a  secret,  from  all  but 
the  ones  interested.  Seymour  Treat,  Peter  Allen,  Francis  Whitcomb,  and  Cap- 
tain Blackman's  brother,  Remember,  comprised  the  party  when  they  left  Fort 
Harrison,  but  the  two  Beckwith  brothers,  Dan  and  George  joined  them  at  the 
North  Arm  Prairie,  where  they  were  living  with  Jonathan  Mayo.  It  is  thought 
that  these  five  men  crossed  the  Wabash  at  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek,  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  October  and  struck  out  in  a  northwest  course  through  the  timber 
and  prairies  keeping  the  direction  with  a  small  pocket  compass. 

When  they  came  to  a  stream,  supposed  to  be  the  Big  Vermilion,  they 
camped.  This  was  October  31,  1819.  They  inferred  they  were  about  25  miles 
from  the  Wabash  river.  Here  Captain  Blackman  pointed  out  a  smooth  spot  of 
low  ground  about  twenty  to  thirty  rods  across,  where  he  said  there  was  salt 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  43 

water.  There  was  no  vegetation  growing  there  and  little  trace  of  people  ever 
having  used  the  water.  Peter  Allen  in  his  affidavit  testified  that  there  were 
"some  few  places  where  the  Indians  had  sunk  curbs  of  bark  into  the  soil  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring-  salt  water."  Two  or  three  of  the  men  were  set  to  work 
with  spades  to  dig  in  the  soil  and,  by  going  two  or  three  feet  into  the  saturated 
ground,  saline  water  was  procured.  This  water  was  boiled  down  in  a  kettle  they 
had  brought  with  them  for  the  purpose,  and  they  found  that  about  two  gallons 
of  water  made  four  ounces  of  good  clear  salt.  An  experimental  well  was  dug  a 
few  rods  from  the  former,  and  the  water  was  found  to  contain  a  larger  per  cent 
of  salt.  The  agreement  was  made  that  Blackman  should  recognize  Treat,  Whit- 
comb  and  the  Beckwiths  as  partners  in  the  discovery  of  the  salt  springs  and  each 
should  pay  his  portion  of  the  expenses.  Whitcomb  and  Beckwith  were  left  in 
charge  so  that  no  one  could  come  and  claim  possession.  Blackman  had  learned 
a  lesson  from  his  own  treachery  of  Barren.  These  men  were  to  go  on  in  the 
manufacture  of  salt  while  the  others  returned  to  Fort  Harrison  to  procure  tools 
and  provisions  as  well  as  to  move  Treats'  family. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  Treat  returned,  coming  up  the  Wabash 
and  Vermilion  rivers  in  a  pirogue,  with  tools,  provision  and  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren. The  men  were  good  axe-men  and  a  cabin  was  soon  built  so  as  to  give 
Treat's  family  needed  shelter.  While  the  settlement  was  thus  made,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  salt  works  was  not  so  easily  accomplished.  Blackman  had  proved 
as  dishonorable  in  the  case  of  the  second  party  as  he  had  toward  Barron. 

Notwithstanding  the  promise  to  include  the  others  in  the  profits  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  salt  springs  (which  was  after  all  not  theirs,  but  Barrens)  Black- 
man took  the  lease  or  permit  to  manufacture  salt  in  his  own  name.  Complaint 
was  entered  by  the  other  men  as  well  as  by  Mr.  Barron,  and  some  three  years 
passed  before  the  difficulty  was  adjusted.  Another  letter  from  Governor  Bond 
gives  one  reason,  at  least,  for  the  delay. 

To  J.  B.  Thomas,  N.  Edwards,  and  D.  P.  Cook : 

KASKASKIA,  Dec.  20,  1819. 

On  the  3d  of  April  last  I  wrote  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  that  Salines 
had  been  discovered  upon  sections  22  and  23  in  township  No.  2  N.  Range  No. 
7  East  of  the  principal  meridian  and  requested  that  the  usual  reservations  of 
land  for  use  of  the  same  might  be  made.  I  have  not  received  the  answer  of  the 
Secretary.  Will  you  have  the  goodness  to  communicate  with  him  on  the  subject 
and  let  me  know  the  determination  of  the  Government.  A  valuable  salt  spring 
has  been  discovered  upon  the  Vermilion  river  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  and 
I  have  received  several  applications  to  lease  it.  The  lands  about  have  not 
been  surveyed  and  I  can  not  lease  until  some  reservation  of  land  from  public 
sale  shall  be  made  for  its  use.  Will  it  not  be  possible  to  obtain  a  reservation 
before  the  surveys  are  made  ?  Please  to  give  me  an  early  answer. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  Gent.  Yrs.  &c., 

SHADRACH  BOND. 

The  gentlemen  addressed  in  this  letter  were  representing  Illinois  in  Congress 
at  that  time.  The  examination  of  these  salines  was  not  made  until  the  following 
year,  however.  It  was  August  28,  1822,  before  the  President  approved  the  nee- 


44  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

essary  reservation,  and  even  then  the  land  could  not  be  leased  because  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  found  to  be  on  a  section  16,  all  of  such  number  being  set  apart  for 
school  lands.  This  complication  called  for  the  following  letter  from  Gov.  Coles 
to  the  members  of  Congress. 

To  N.  Edwards,  J.  B.  Thomas  and  D.  B.  Cook : 

Gentlemen, — In  the  year  1819  a  saline  was  discovered  on  the  Vermilion  river 
in  this  state,  which  was  examined  the  ensuing  year  in  conformity  to  the  instruc- 
tions received  from  the  commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  by  Col.  Th. 
Cox,  the  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  this  place  who  reported  that  "from  all 
appearances  there  was  little  reason  to  doubt  of  its  being  saline  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary value,"  and  recommended  that  the  Govt.  should  reserve  from  sale  and 
appropriate  for  the  use  of  the  Saline  a  Tract  of  Land  which  "should  extend  two 
miles  on  each  side  of  the  creek,  &  about  ten  miles  in  length,  extending 
about  six  miles  below  Blackman's  wells."  Since  Col.  Cox  made  his 
examination  and  report,  the  lands  in  that  district  of  country  have 
been  surveyed  and  the  Salines  have  been  found  to  be  in  section  six-teen, 
in  township  19,  N.  of  Range  12  W.  of  the  principal  meridian.  In  a 
letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Meigs  to  Govr.  Bond  dated  August  28,  1822,  he  says: 
"The  President  of  the  U.  S.  has  approved  of  the  reservation  suggested  by  Th. 
Cox  who  was  appointed  to  examine  those  salines  in  1820,"  and  adds  that  "Mr. 
Kitchell,  the  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Palestine,  has  been  requested  to  des- 
ignate, according  to  the  best  of  his  Judgment  the  lands  alluded  to  in  Mr.  Cox's 
report  by  section,  Township  &  Range  and  to  exempt  them  for  sale."  This  Mr. 
Kitchell  informs  me  he  has  done  but  has  suggested  a  small  alteration  in  the  res- 
ervation as  proposed  by  Mr.  Cox.  In  the  letter  above  referred  to  Mr.  Meigs 
says  "as  Section  on  No.  16  in  township  19  N.  of  Range  No.  12  W.  of  the  section 
principal  Mn.  is  covered  by  a  salt  spring  I  would  suggest  that  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  is  at  present  absent  from  the  city,  that  you  (Gov.  Bond)  make  a 
selection  of  a  section  in  the  same  township,  for  the  purpose  of  education  and 
report  the  same,  to  the  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Palestine  who  will  reserve 
the  same  from  sale  until  the  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  have 
been  obtained." 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion  Gov.  Bond  authorized  Mr.  Kitchell,  the 
Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Palestine  to  select  another  section  in  lieu  of  sec- 
tion 1 6,  who  selected  and  reserved  from  sale  section  No.  28  of  the  same  town- 
ship for  the  purpose  of  education. 

With  a  knowledge  of  these  facts,  but  without  knowing  whether  the  proper 
sanction  had  been  given  to  the  exchange  of  the  16  section  or  of  a  more  formal 
approbation  of  the  President  to  the  reservation,  as  designated  by  Mr.  Kitchell, 
I  have  been  induced  by  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  parties  claiming  to  have 
discovered  the  Saline  who  have  been  applying  for  a  lease  the  last  three  years,  to 
lease  it  (viz:  the  West  half  of  section  16,  and  the  East  half  of  Section  17)  to 
them  for  the  term  of  four  years  under  the  provision  of  act  entitled  "An  act  to 
encourage  the  discovery  of  salt  water." 

I  have  thought  proper  to  state  these  facts  for  your  information  &  to  enable 
you  to  have  perfected  the  title  of  the  State  to  the  Reservation  in  question  and 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  45 

the  proper  sanction  given  to  the  exchange  of  the  i6th  section;  and  I  am  the 
more  particular  in  calling  your  attention  to  them  as  doubts  are  entertained  by 
some  whether  Legislative  provisions  may  not  be  required  in  one  or  possibly  both 
cases. 

Permit  me  also  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  proper  titles  have  not 
been  received  for  the  grants  of  Land  which  the  Federal  Govt.  has  made  to  this 
State  for  the  use  of  Salines  &  for  the  location  of  its  seat  of  Govt.  By  having 
Patents  made  out  &  forwarded  to  this  office  you  will  render  us  acceptable  service 
to  this  State  and  a  particular  favor  on  your  fellow  citizen. 

EDWARD  COLES. 

That  Gov.  Coles  was  a  man  who  would  not  work  a  hardship  to  any  one  is 
shown  by  the  way  he  treated  this  complicated  matter.  A  selection  from  a  letter 
written  by  him  dated  May  n,  1823,  will  explain  the  whole  thing.  This  letter 
was  written  to  W.  H.  Crawford,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  after  refer- 
ence to  the  letter  written  him  by  Gov.  Bond  and  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Kitchell 
in  selecting  another  section  to  take  the  place  of  the  one  covered  by  the  salines 
yet  was  set  apart  as  school  land,  all  of  which  he  says,  "I  presume  has  been  re- 
ported to  you,"  Gov.  Coles  goes  on  to  say:  "The  object  of  this  letter  is,  to  ob- 
tain from  the  Govt.  the  express  designation  and  formal  reservation  of  lands 
for  the  Vermilion  Saline,  and  its  consent  to  the  exchange  of  the  16  section  and 
to  the  selection  which  has  been  made  of  section  28  in  the  same  township  for  the 
purposes  of  education. 

"Attention  to  this  subject  has  become  the  more  necessary  as  relying  on  the 
Government  fufilling  the  declarations  and  suggestions  of  Mr.  Meigs,  /  was 
induced  in  December  last  to  yield  to  the  importunities  of  the  persons  who  claim 
to  have  made  the  discovery  of  the  Salines,  and  who  had  been  for  several  years 
waiting  impatiently  for  the  Lands  to  be  surveyed  (during  which  time  some  of 
them  had  been  making  salt  in  a  small  way) ,  to  grant  them  a  lease  for  four  years, 
on  condition  of  the  working  and  improving  the  saline." 

During  this  interim  of  waiting  for  a  lease  to  be  given  several  wells  were  sunk 
at  the  salt  works.  Whitcomb  and  Beckwith,  together  sunk  one  to  the  depth  of 
fifty  feet,  drilling  mostly  through  solid  rock  and  at  their  own  expense.  The  salt 
was  excellent  in  quality,  purity  and  strength.  Great  expectation  arose  regarding 
these  salt  works  in  the  Wabash  valley.  It  was  at  this  time  in  the  infancy  of  the 
salt  works  that  the  letter  written  Gov.  Bond  by  James  B.  McCall  was  sent  and 
at  the  time  that  nothing  seemed  possible  to  be  done  to  make  a  lease  of  the  springs. 
He  wrote :  "The  people  of  the  eastern  section  of  your  state  are  very  anxious 
that  the  manufacture  of  salt  might  be  gone  into.  Appearances  at  the  Vermilion 
Salines  justify  the  belief  that  salt  may  be  made  north  of  this  sufficient  for  the 
consumption  of  all  the  settlers  on  the  Wabash,  and  much  below  the  present 
prices.  Nearly  all  the  salt  consumed  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  is  fur- 
nished by  Kentucky,  and  the  transportation  so  far  up  the  stream  materially  en- 
hances the  price,  and  in  the  present  undeveloped  state  of  the  country  as  to  money, 
prevents  a  majority  of  the  farmers  from  procuring  the  quantity  of  this  neces- 
sary article  that  their  stock,  &c.,  requires." 


46  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

This  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  McCall  from  Vincennes  in  a  futile  effort  to 
have  the  Salines  developed.  The  date  was  June,  1820,  six  months  after  Gov. 
Bond  wrote  his  second  letter  to  the  members  of  Congress  in  which  he  expressed 
an  anxiety  to  know  the  determination  of  the  Govt.  upon  the  subject  of 
these  Salines.  In  this  letter  he  asks :  "Has  the  Gov.  established  any  general 
rules  upon  these  subjects?  What  evidence  will  be  required  of  the  discovery  of 
a  salt  spring?  An  early  answer  as  will  suit  your  convenience  will  be  thankfully 
received." 

Continuing  the  correspondence  between  Gov.  Coles  and  W.  H.  Crawford, 
Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  there  is  a  letter,  a  part  of  which  refers  to  this  subject 
and  is  as  follows : 

EDWARDSVILLE,  Illinois,  July  19,  1823. 

Sir — I  had  the  honor  to  receive  by  the  last  Mail  your  letter  of  the  12  Ulto., 
giving  the  sanction  of  the  President  of  the  U.  S.  to  the  reservation  made  by  J. 
Kitchell  of  the  forty  sections  of  land  for  the  Vermilion  Salines  and  approving 
the  substitution  of  section  28  in  township  19  N.  of  range  12  W.  (you  state  10  W., 
but  this  I  presume  must  be  a  mistake)  for  the  purpose  of  education,  in  lieu  of 
the  16  section  in  the  same  township,  on  which  the  Vermilion  salt  springs  are 
situated.  I  am  with  great  Respect  and  esteem  yours, 

EDWARD  COLES. 

The  following  Spring  the  Salt  works  were  leased  to  John  W.  Vance  and  then, 
for  the  first  time,  they  were  worked  to  their  full  power.  Mr.  Vance  brought 
twenty-four  large  kettles  from  Louisville,  in  a  bateau,  down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Wabash  and  thence  up  that  stream  to  the  Vermilion  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  Stony  Creek  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Danville.  The  water  was  low  and 
the  channel  was  obstructed  by  a  sand  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  so  the  boat 
was  abandoned  and  the  kettles  were  hauled  by  ox  teams  to  their  designation. 
The  capacity  of  the  springs  soon  justified  the  increase  of  the  number  of  the 
kettles  to  eighty,  each  holding  140  gallons.  A  furnace  was  built  of  stone  at  the 
bench  of  the  hill  near  the  wells,  and  these  kettles  were  set  in  it  in  a  double  row. 
It  took  100  gallons  of  water  from  the  wells  to  make  a  bushel  of  salt.  From  60 
to  80  bushels  were  a  good  week's  run.  The  state  only  kept  the  salt  springs  until 
1829  when  in  accordance  with  the  following  instructions  the  land  was  declared 
for  sale.  This  letter  from  Gov.  Reynolds  tells  its  own  story: 
To  Amos  Williams  and  William  Reed. 

Gentlemen: — You  are  by  these  presents,  required  to  proceed  in  conformity 
to  the  provisions  of  "an  act  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  Vermilion  Saline  re- 
serve, and  appropriating  the  avails  thereof,"  approved  January  19,  1829,  to  ad- 
vertise the  said  Saline  lands,  and  to  take  such  other  steps  as  may  be  necessary 
to  the  full  and  complete  execution  of  the  duties  imposed  on  the  Register  and 
Receiver  by  the  said  recited  act. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  REYNOLDS. 

The  use  to  which  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  the  Vermilion  Salines  was  put 
is  stated  in  another  letter  written  the  governor  of  Indiana,  dated  Dec.  29,  1832. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  47 

After  reciting  the  joint  resolution  of  the  general  assembly  of  Illinois  in  re- 
gard to  the  improvement  of  the  Wabash  river  he  goes  on  to  say:  "Some  years 
since  the  legislature  being  well  satisfied  of  the  importance  of  the  improvement  of 
the  navigation  of  this  river,  appropriated  the  money  arising  from  the  sale  of  the 
first  ten  thousand  acres  of  the  Vermilion  Saline  lands.  This  sum  amounts  to 
$11,985.16,  and  is  now  ready  to  be  applied  on  that  object  for  which  it  was  ap- 
propriated." He  goes  on  to  urge  Indiana  to  contribute  a  sum  equal  to  that,  etc. 

Although  the  Salines  passed  out  of  the  ownership  of  the  state  in  1829,  the 
salt  works  were  an  industry  for  many  years  afterward.  The  wells  were  aban- 
doned and  the  works  closed  between  1848  and  1850.  G.  W.  Wolfe,  of  Catlin, 
is  the  only  living  man  who  worked  in  them.  When  a  boy  of  18  his  brother  Isaac 
operated  a  well  for  two  years.  The  young  man  pumped  water  for  25  cents  per 
day  and  boarded  himself.  The  stock  of  the  well  was  made  from  hickory  tree, 
through  which  a  hole  had  been  bored.  It  stood  25  ft.  above  ground  and  the 
pumper  stood  on  a  high  elevation  and  pumped  water  into  a  huge  trough  that 
carried  it  over  the  kettles  quite  a  distance  away.  Three  hundred  strokes  of  the 
big  heavy  handle  were  considered  one  man's  task  before  he  was  permitted  to 
rest,  day  in  and  day  out.  The  most  salt  that  could  be  made  at  that  time  was 
seven  bushels  per  day  and  the  price  had  been  reduced  to  50  cts.  per  bu.  At 
this  rate  there  was  not  profit  enough  in  the  works  to  have  it  worth  while  to  keep 
them  up.  When  the  springs  were  first  opened  the  brine  yielded  i  bu.  of  salt 
to  170  gallons  of  water  and  made  40  to  50  bu.  of  salt  per  week.  Later  a  cavity 
of  18  in.  was  found  from  which  flowed  a  much  stronger  brine  100  gallons  of 
which  yielded  a  bu.  of  salt.  The  production  became  120  bushels  per  week. 

The  salt  sold  readily  at  the  sajt  works  for  from  $1.25  to  $1.50  per  busheL 
Much  of  it  was  taken  down  the  river  in  pirogues  to  supply  the  country  there 
A  great  deal  of  it  was  taken  away  in  wagons  and  much  of  it  was  taken  on  horse- 
back in  sacks  by  people  who  were  too  poor  to  own  a  team. 

People  came  from  as  far  as  the  settlements  at  Buffalo,  Elkhart  Grove,  the 
Sangamon  and  Illinois  rivers  and  from  the  neighborhood  of  Rockville  and  Rose- 
dale  Indiana.  This  prosperity  continued  until  the  discovery  of  great  quantities 
of  brine  upon  the  Kanawha  river  and  the  completion  of  a  government  pier  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  Creek,  making  a  practical  harbor,  where  vessels  could 
safely  enter,  made  competition  which  could  not  be  met  at  the  Vermilion  Salines. 
The  works  were  finally  abandoned,  the  buildings  being  vacant,  were  destroyed, 
and,  at  last,  the  very  existence  of  this,  at  one  time  most  important  industry  of 
eastern  Illinois,  is  forgotten  and  by  many  can  not  be  located.  The  settle- 
ment about  the  old  salt  works  was  long  ago  completely  obscured,  and  now  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  exactly  locate  the  old  wells  themselves,  without  an  appeal 
to  the  few  residents  of  the  county  who  had  some  one  of  the  past  generation  tell 
about  it,  so  completely  has  the  change  been  made.  Following  the  direction  given 
by  one  who  yet  knows  the  location  of  these  wells,  and  going  a  half  mile  west 
of  the  crossing  of  the  Middle  Fork,  into  the  bottom,  near  the  north  bank  of  the 
Salt  Fork,  between  the  cultivated  fields  and  the  river,  there  is  nothing  remain- 
ing to  show  where  this  once  great  industry  was  located.  'All  trace  has  been  ef- 
faced, and,  strange  to  say,  this  is  the  work  of  the  great  rival  industry — the  coal 
operations.  Vegetation  covers  this  spot  where  the  wild  animals  came  to  get  the 


48  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

necessary  saline  matter  for  their  health;  where  the  Indians  and  the  French 
traders  who  came  to  them  for  their  furs  long  before  the  white  man  came  for 
the  salt;  where  the  white  man  sought  wealth  for  himself  and  convenience  for 
others.  The  Indians  who  were  here  when  Major  Vance  came  told  him  that 
the  French  traders  and  the  Indians  made  salt  at  these  springs  for  at  least  seventy 
or  eighty  years  before  they  were  developed  by  the  Americans;  and  they  told 
him,  they  "had  no  recollection  of  the  time,  it  was  so  long  ago,  that  our  people 
commenced  making  salt  here."  Lost  is  every  sign  of  the  well-worn  trail  of  the 
buffalo  and  other  wild  animals  which  were  at  the  coming  of  the  white  man  found 
converging  at  this  brakish  ooze  from  many  directions.  Even  the  testimony  of 
its  having  been  the  resort  of  an  abundance  of  game,  by  the  quantity  of  broken 
arrow  heads  to  be  found  in  the  locality  for  a  half  hundred  years  after  Major 
Vance  came,  is  no  longer  to  be  found.  Grain  is  reaped  on  the  spot  where  the 
buffalo  and  wild  fowl  roamed  to  satisfy  their  desire  for  salt;  the  farmer  sells 
the  produce  of  the  soil  from  the  land  which  yielded  the  salt  manufacturer  his 
wealth,  and  even  the  memory  of  Mother  Bloss  "who  was  the  last  to  cling  to  the 
produce  of  the  salt  works,"  is  dim  at  best  in  the  minds  of  the  people  who  pass 
this  historic  spot. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  finding  of  salt  on  the  Vermilion  River,  the  history 
of  Vermilion  County  would  have  differed  greatly. 

It  was  salt  and  furs  that  prompted  the  settlement  of  this  section.  Any  other 
river  would  have  offered  the  furs,  but  at  that  time  the  salt  was  worth  more  than 
any  other  thing.  It  was  worth  more  than  any  precious  metal  and  of  itself, 
induced  settlement  of  this  region  as  nothing  else  could  have  done.  The  fur 
bearing  animals  along  the  banks  of  the  streams  brought  the  trader;  these  in 
turn  were  driven  away  by  the  white  man  seeking  salt  and  disappeared ;  the  salt 
attracted  the  early  settler  and  drove  away  the  trader;  this  industry  yielded  all 
trace  of  its  being  to  the  later  means  of  wealth  in  the  region  when  the  coal  in- 
terests obliterated  all  signs  of  the  former  source  of  wealth. 

Surely  the  way  of  life  comes  by  abandonment. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
UNITED  STATES  LAND  SURVEYS. 

PLAN  OF  SURVEY  OF  THE  EXTENSIVE  TERRITORIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES THE 

"HARRISON  PURCHASE" — THE  LATER  SURVEY. 

The  system  which  governs  the  survey  of  the  territories  of  the  United  States 
is  a  peculiar  one.  It  is  based  upon  a  plan  which  makes  a  division  of  the  land 
into  squares  of  uniform  size,  so  arranged  that  any  tract  of  160  acres,  or  a  "quar- 
ter section,"  may  have  its  distinct  designation  and  be  readily  found  upon  the 
map,  or  recognized  upon  the  ground  by  the  marks  the  surveyors  leave.  Apple- 
ton's  American  Encyclopedia  describes  this  plan  clearly  and  concisely  as  follows : 

Each  great  survey  is  based  upon  a  meridian  line  run  due  north  and  south 
by  astronomical  measurements,  the  whole  extent  of  the  survey  in  these  direc- 
tions, and  upon  a  "standard  parallel"  or  base  line,  running  east  and  west,  sim- 
ilarly established  with  great  accuracy.  Parallels  to  these  lines  are  run  every  six 
miles,  usually  with  the  solar  compass  corrected  by  frequent  celestial  observations, 
and  thus,  as  nearly  as  the  figure  of  the  earth  admits,  the  surface  is  divided  into 
squares  of  six  miles  north  and  south  and  the  same  east  and  west,  each  one 
containing  thirty-six  square  miles.  The  territory  is  further  divided  into  sec- 
tions by  meridians  and  parallels  run  at  every  mile ;  while  the  half  mile  is  marked 
on  these  lines  by  setting  what  is  called  a  "quarter  post,"  the  points  are  established 
for  the  subdivisions  into  quartersections. 

The  squares  of  thirty-six  square  miles  are  termed  townships,  often  con- 
tracted into  "towns;"  and  each  line  of  theml  east  and  west  is  numbered  either 
N.  or  S.  from  the  base  line,  and  each  line  of  them  N.  and  S.  is  termed  a  range, 
and  either  numbered  E.  or  W.  from  the  meridian.  The  N.  and  S.  lines  bor- 
dering the  townships  are  known  as  range  lines,  and  the  E.  and  W.  lines  as  town- 
ship lines.  Each  survey  is  designated  by  the  meridian  upon  which  it  is  based, 
and  of  these  principal  meridians  there  are  six  designated  by  numbers,  and 
eighteen  by  special  names.  The  first  meridian  adopted  for  these  surveys  was  the 
boundary  line  between  Ohio  and  Indiana;  the  second  through  Indiana  on  the 
meridian  of  86  degrees  28  minutes,  west  from  Greenwich ;  the  third  through  Illi- 
nois, beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river ;  the  fourth  north  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river ;  the  fifth  north  from  the  river  Arkansas ;  the  sixth  on  the 
4Oth  parallel  of  longitude. 

49 


50  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

After  a  township  is  determined  the  sections  of  it  are  numbered  beginning 
with  the  northeast  corner,  running  thence  across  and  back  until  the  36th  is 
reached  in  the  southeast  corner. 

Because  of  the  conquest  of  the  Northwestern  Territory  by  George  Rogers 
Clark,  and  the  addition  of  this  land  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  river  to  the 
United  States  by  surrender  of  her  rights  on  the  part  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Virginia,  there  remained  but  satisfactory  treaties  to  be  made  with  the  Indians 
to  open  the  country  to  the  use  of  the  white  settler. 

William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed  governor  of  the  territory  of  Indiana 
at  the  time  of  its  organization,  in  1800,  and  not  only  that  but  he  was  made 
general  Indian  agent  for  that  territory  which  extended  to  the  Mississippi  river  on 
the  west,  and  to  the  line  of  the  state  of  Ohio  on  the  east.  This  territory  held  the 
most  numerous  and  most  populous  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

William  Henry  Harrison  served  his  country  in  many  and  various  ways,  and 
at  last  was  given  the  highest  honor  the  nation  can  confer  upon  any  one  yet  no 
where  did  he  render  greater  service  than  in  the  official  dealings  he  had  as  super- 
intendent of  Indian  affairs.  He  extinguished  the  title  of  the  Indians  to  a  greater 
part  of  the  territory  in  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  in  all  his  dealings  with  them  his 
conduct  was  marked  by  a  kindness  and  fair  dealing  which  won  him  their  con- 
fidence and  esteem.  His  correspondence,  both  official  and  private,  well  shows 
that  he  had  a  tender  regard  for,  and  understanding  of,  the  unfortunate  race  and 
a  desire  to  protect  their  rights  against  the  designs  of  the  unscrupulous  white 
man.  At  the  same  time  he  was  as  anxious  to  shield  the  white  man  from  the 
aggressions  of  the  Indian.  It  is  said  that  Governor  Harrison,  while  in  this  of- 
ficial capacity,  was  acquainted  with  almost  every  prominent  chief  of  the  many 
tribes  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  by  his  tact  and  honest  dealing  he  attracted 
many  of  the  leading  savages  to  bonds  of  closest  friendship. 

It  was  during  his  term  as  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  that  he  was  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  treaty  by  which  the  coveted  strip  of  land,  now  known 
as  the  Harrison  Purchase,  was  ceded  to  the  United  States.  This  land,  a  por- 
tion of  which  lies  within  the  boundary  of  what  is  now  Vermilion  County,  was 
long  coveted  by  Harrison,  but  it  was  not  until  the  treaty  held  at  Fort  Wayne, 
September  3Oth,  1809,  that  it  was  obtained.  This  land  was  run  out  in  1810, 
but,  because  of  the  trouble  with  the  Indians  at  that  time,  nothing  more  was 
done  then. 

This  preliminary  survey  was  made  by  John  McDonald,  of  Vincennes,  who 
was  probably  the  first  man  who  ever  set  a  surveyor's  compass  thus  far  up  the 
Wabash.  Events  quickly  followed  which  led  to  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  and 
the  war  of  1812,  during  all  of  which  time  the  enmity  of  the  savages  kept  the 
settlements  of  southern  Illinois  and  Indiana  in  constant  peril  and  held  back  im- 
migration. After  the  close  of  the  war  the  Harrison  Purchase  was  surveyed  and 
the  hardy  pioneer  took  possession. 

This,  however,  opened  up  but  a  small  portion  of  what  is  now  Vermilion 
County.  It  was  not  until  the  treaty  of  1819,  made  at  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  on 
the  thirtieth  day  of  July,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Kickapoo  Indians, 
that  the  territory  therein  described  of  which  Vermilion  County  is  a  part,  was 
surveyed  and  opened  to  the  occupancy  of  the  white  man. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  51 

The  territory  ceded  at  this  time  was  bounded  as  follows: — Beginning  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  Vincennes  tract  (about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Vin- 
cennes),  thence  northeasterly  to  the  dividing  line  between  the  states  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  thence  along  said  line  to  the  Kankakee  river ;  thence  with  said  river 
to  the  Illinois  river ;  thence  down  the  latter  to  the  mouth ;  thence  with  a  direct 
line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Vincennes  tract,  the  place  of  beginning.  The 
language  of  his  treaty  recites  that,  "said  Kickapoo  tribe  claims  a  large  portion 
by  descent  from  their  ancestors,  and  the  balance  by  conquest  from  the  Illinois 
nation  and  undisputed  possession  for  more  than  half  a  century." 

This  new  territory  was  duly  surveyed  and  became  the  undisputed  property 
of  the  white  man.  When  this  survey  was  made  the  fact  was  discovered  that  there 
was  a  discrepancy  between  it  and  the  survey  of  the  Harrison  Purchase,  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile.  Because  of  this  fact,  there  is  a  dip  of  that  extent  in  the 
lower  part  of  not  only  this  county  but  of  those  south  as  far  as  the  territory  of 
the  Purchase  goes. 

THE  HARRISON   PURCHASE. 

Any  map  of  Vermilion  county  shows  an  odd  extension  of  irregular  shape  on 
the  south  side,  very  near  to  the  eastern  border.  This  extension  looks  as  though 
a  wedge-shaped  piece  of  land  had  been  attempted  to  have  been  driven  into  the 
county,  and  did  not  get  entirely  in.  Following  the  lines  marking  the  east  and 
west  boundaries  of  this  wedge,  they  are  found  to  meet  at  a  little  east  of  Ridge 
Farm.  The  area  included  in  this  boundary  is  that  part  of  the  Harrison  Purchase 
which  falls  within  Vermilion  County.  When  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  was 
at  that  time  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  of  the  Indiana  Teritory,  had 
arranged  the  purchase  of  the  land  he  so  much  desired  for  the  United  States  and 
had  concluded  the  treaty  with  the  Delawares,  the  Kickapoos,  the  Pottowatomies, 
the  Miamis  and  the  Eel  River  Indians,  at  Fort  Wayne,  September  30,  1809,  he 
came  back  to  locate  the  new  possession.  He  and  the  selected  Indians  met  at  a 
certain  rock  in  a  grove  a  little  to  the  east  of  what  is  now  Ridge  Farm.  Knowing 
nothing  of  the  use  of  the  compass,  the  Indians  stipulated  that  the  line  bounding 
the  east  of  the  tract  should  run  in  the  direction  of  the  sun  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  that  the  western  boundary  line  should  run  in  the  direction  of  the 
sun  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  agreement  was  that  such  territory 
as  fell  within  the  boundary  of  the  extent  of  a  man's  riding  in  two  days  and  a  half, 
would  be  included  in  this  purchase.  All  the  requirements  were  met  and,  it  is  said, 
that  on  the  return  trip,  the  grove  from  which  the  riders  started  was  their  pilot 
back.  It  was  the  only  grove  of  trees  in  that  part  of  the  country  and  it  safely 
piloted  them  back,  and  was  for  that  reason  called  Pilot  Grove. 

The  west  line  of  this  tract  of  land  extends  south  and  west,  passing  through 
Marshall,  the  east  line  crosses  the  Wabash  at  the  mouth  of  Raccoon  Creek, 
below  Newport,  Indiana,  and  continues  north  and  east  of  Terre  Haute.  The 
easterly  line  of  this  survey  has  always  been  called  the  "ten  o'clock  line"  and  the 
westerly  boundary  the  "one  o'clock  line"  by  old  settlers  and  early  surveyors. 
Near  the  north  side  of  the  Harrison  Purchase  lay  a  very  fertile  section  which 
early  attracted  settlement,  and  was  known  as  the  North  AYm  Prairie.  This  was 
the  source  of  the  early  settlement  of  Vermilion  County.  On  account  of  the 


52  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

difference  in  the  survey  of  the  Harrison  Purchase  and  the  later  U.  S.  survey  of 
three  quarters  of  a  mile,  the  boundary  lines  of  Vermilion  and  Edgar  Counties 
on  the  south,  and  Edgar  and  Clark  Counties  on  the  north,  have  always  been 
irregular. 

SECOND    SURVEY. 

That  small  portion  of  the  "Harrison  Purchase"  which  extended  into  Vermilion 
County  was  the  only  part  of  this  territory  which  was  surveyed  up  to  1821.  After 
the  treaty  made  at  Edwardsville,  July  30,  1819,  which  forever  extinguished  the 
claim  of  the  Indians,  the  United  States  surveyors  came.  Unlike  their  prede- 
cessors, the  Indians,  their  work  was  to  be  permanent;  it  was  to  last  through 
all  time,  and  to  be  a  law  to  all  future  dwellers  in  the  land.  The  lines,  as  then 
fixed  and  marked  by  these  surveyors,  are  the  lines  which  now  divide  the  townships 
and  farms  of  the  county  and  which  determine  its  boundaries,  and  the  location 
of  its  public  roads.  A  detailed  account  of  the  first  surveys  of  Vermilion  County 
has  been  secured  from  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington,  and  is  as  folows : 

Beginning  with  Tp.  23,  R.  14  W.  it  is  found  that  E.  Steen  recorded  survey  in 
November  18,  1882. 

Township  22,  R.  14  W.  is  the  same. 

Township  21,  R.  14  W.  is  recorded  by  John  Messinger,  June  13,  1821. 

Township  20,  R.  14  W.  is  recorded  by  James  Thompson,  August  23,  1821. 

Townships  19,  18,  and  17,  R.  14  W.  are  the  same  as  Tp.  20,  R.  14  W. 

Townships  23  and  22,  R.  13  W.  are  recorded  by  E.  Steen,  November  18,  1822. 

Township  21,  R.  14  W.  is  recorded  by  J.  Messinger,  June  13,  1821. 

Township  20,  R.  14  W.  is  recorded  by  Beal  Greenup,  July  5,  1821. 

Townships  19,  18,  and  17,  R.  13  W.  are  recorded  in  the  same  way. 

Townships  21,  22,  and  23,  R.  12  W.  are  recorded  by  E.  Steen,  November 
18,  1822. 

Townships  17,  18,  19,  and  20,  are  recorded  by  Joseph  Borough,  September 
12,  1821. 

Townships  21,  22,  and  23,  R.  n  W.  are  recorded  by  W.  L.  Hamilton  and 
Elias  Rector,  December  3,  1822. 

Townships  17,  18,  19,  and  20,  are  recorded  by  J.  B.  McCall,  November 
12,  1822. 

In  making  these  surveys  these  men  marked  the  section  corners  by  throwing 
up  mounds  of  earth  around  stakes  which  had  been  charred  in  the  camp  fire, 
and  driven  into  the  ground,  and  they  were  left  so  well  marked  that  other  sur- 
veyors easily  found  them  after  many  years. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
EARLY  MILITARY  INVASION  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

INVASION    BY    SPANISH    TROOPS OBJECT    OF    THIS    MARCH    ACROSS    THE    STATE    OI> 

ILLINOIS EVIDENCE     OF     THIS     COMPANY     OF     SOLDIERS     CROSSING     VERMILION 

COUNTY ILLINOIS  RANGERS THE  COMMAND  UNDER  GEN.   SAMUEL   HOPKINS 

GEN.   HOPKINS'  ARMY  A   BAND  OF  UNDISCIPLINED   MEN REGIMENT,   A  MOB   ON 

RETREAT CANNON  BALL  FOUND  IN  BLUFF  OF  MIDDLE  FORK  RIVER WHAT  DOES 

IT  PROVE? 

/ 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  there  was  an  invasion  of  the  North- 
west Territory  made  by  Spanish  troops  who  crossed  the  state  and  came  into 
what  is  now  Vermilion  County.  The  point  toward  which  these  troops  were 
marching  was  the  British  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river  near  the 
south  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  Whether  any  more  important  results  were  con- 
templated than  a  temporary  possession  of  this  fort,  has  never  been  known. 
The  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  since  known  as  the  Louisiana  Purchase, 
at  that  time  belonged  to  Spain.  St.  Louis  was  its  capital.  It  was  from  this 
point  that  the  invasion  was  made. 

On  January  2,  1781,  a  small  army  of  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
under  a  Spanish  officer  crossed  the  Mississippi  river  on  their  way  to  march 
across  the  state  of  Illinois.  This  army  was  about  equally  divided  between  white 
men  and  Indians,  while  the  white  men  were  about  half  Frenchmen  and  half 
Spanish  soldiers.  Their  objective  point  was  the  nearest  fort  which  yet  floated 
the  flag  of  Great  Britain.  This  was  old  Fort  St.  Joseph,  located  in  southern 
Michigan.  The  only  possible  motive  for  this  expedition  was  the  hatred  of  the 
Spanish  for  Great  Britain,  and  this  was  an  echo  of  the  trouble  in  the  old 
country  between  these  two,  at  that  time,  important  European  powers  which 
were  at  war  with  each  other.  The  march  was  started  in  mid-winter.  Since 
the  waterways  were  frozen,  the  march  must  be  made  by  land,  and  since  they  did 
not  dare  venture  on  the  prairies  because  of  the  extreme  cold  winds  and  the 
danger  of  losing  their  way,  their  line  of  travel  was  along  the  banks  of  the 
streams.  It  is  not  exactly  known  what  trail  they  took,  but  it  is  agreed  by  all 
writers  that  they  left  the  state  at  about  where  Danville  now  is,  going  thence 
in  a  northerly  direction,  to  South  Bend,  Indiana.  This  distance  of  four  hundred 
miles  in  the  dead  of  winter  must  have  occasioned  much  suffering.  Although 
this  coming  of  a  foreign  people  had  no  effect  upon  affairs  of  this  section,  a 
natural  interest  in  them  makes  a  record  of  their  after  course  admissible  here. 

53 


54  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

This  impoverished  Spanish  army  was  under  command  of  Don  Eugenie 
Pourre.  They  surprised  Fort  St.  Joseph,  and  captured  it  without  trouble. 
Hauling  down  the  flag  of  Great  Britain  and  hoisting  that  of  Spain,  they  took 
up  their  triumphal  march  back  to  St.  Louis,  whence  they  sent  word  of  the  cap- 
tured territory  to  Spain.  It  took  a  year  to  get  the  report  to  Spain,  and  no 
important  results  were  ever  recorded  of  this  expedition.  It  might  be  that  this 
was  one  link  in  a  chain  which  Spain  was  forging  to  gain  possession  of  more 
land  in  America;  it  may  be  that  Vermilion  County  at  that  time  really  stood  in 
danger  of  becoming  a  part  of  Spain  in  the  new  world,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  clear  vision  and  firm  stand  taken  by  Jay,  Franklin  and  Adams  this  heroic 
march  across  this  section  would  have  proven  a  decisive  act  to  that  end. 

As  a  proof  that  this  particular  section  lay  in  the  way  of  this  march,  the 
finding  of  two  cannon  balls  in  a  valley  a  few  miles  west  of  Danville,  has  been 
cited.  These  cannon  balls  found  some  years  ago  about  where  the  old  Kickapoo 
village  once  stood,  were  in  the  range  of  any  small  piece  of  artillery  planted  on 
the  nearby  hills,  and  they  are  considered  by  some  writers  to  be  a  relic  of  this 
expedition,  but  it  seems  with  little  reason,  a  more  reasonable  accounting  for  their 
presence  is  the  fact  of  a  later  invasion  of  the  section  by  Gen.  Hopkins'  army. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  until  after  the  war  of  1812,  the  northern  and  western  frontiers  suffered  a 
great  deal  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians  who  were  instigated  to  utmost  cruelty  by 
the  remnants  of  the  representatives  of  Great  Britain.  Although  defeated  at 
the  first  war  Great  Britain  was  not  convinced  that  America  was  a  lost  province, 
until  after  the  second  war.  The  Indians  in  the  Wabash  valley  were  particularly 
hostile.  Western  Indiana  and  eastern  Illinois  comprised  a  section  where  life 
was  always  in  danger.  The  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn  occurred  less  than  two 
months  after  war  had  been  declared  with  Great  Britain  in  1812,  and  aroused 
the  people  of  the  Illinois  Territory.  Governor  Edwards  gathered  and  organized  a 
force  of  Illinois  Rangers  at  Camp  Russell,  near  Edwardsville  into  two  regiments, 
placing  these  troops  under  the  command  of  Col.  Russell  of  the  regular  army. 

Another  available  force  was  the  two  thousand  mounted  riflemen  of  Kentucky 
who  were  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Samuel  Hopkins,  a  veteran  Revolutionary 
officer.  These  troops  were  in  camp  at  Vincennes.  To  effect  the  best  results 
it  was  agreed  that  the  forces- should  act  in  concert  to  the  end  of  destroying 
Indian  villages  in  this  terrorized  section.  Gen.  Hopkins  was  to  move  up  the 
Wabash  river  to  Fort  Harrison,  burning  Indian  towns  and  driving  the  refugees 
before  him.  Then  he  was  to  cross  the  Wabash  river  into  Illinois  Territory,  march 
across  the  Grand  Prairie  to  the  Illinois  river  at  Peoria  Lake,  where  he  would  be 
met  by  Gen.  Russell  and  Gov.  Edwards,  the  united  forces  to  annihilate  the 
Indians  along  the  Illinois  river.  The  plan  was  a  good  one  for  the  men  wha 
were  hunting  what  they  considered  wild  animals  that  were  a  menace  to  the 
life  of  human  beings.  However,  this  campaign  has  gone  down  in  history  as  a 
cruel  attempt  to  wanton  murder  of  many  who  were  perfectly  innocent,  and  is 
equaled  only  by  records  of  revolting  massacres  on  the  part  of  the  wildest  savages 
themselves.  The  unnecessary  cruelties  perpetrated  at  La  Pe,  reflects  anything 
but  credit  to  the  Illinois  Rangers.  La  Pe  was  a  French  and  Indian  village,  upon 
the  site  of  which  the  present  city  of  Peoria  is  built.  Its  people  were  in  no 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  55 

way  hostile.  Yet  the  traders,  voyageurs,  Indians  and  even  the  agent,  who  was 
a  loyal  and  confidential  officer  of  the  government,  were  all  compelled  to  watch 
their  village  as  it  was  burning,  and  then  to  mlarch  many  miles  from  their  homes 
to  be  left  to  wander  back  to  their  desecrated  town,  and  accept  what  remained  of 
it  as  best  they  could.  This  is  but  one  instance  of  this  onesided  warfare.  General 
Hopkins  was  chagrined  because  of  the  refusal  of  his  troops  to  proceed  after 
the  fourth  day's  march,  yet  that  disgrace  was  not  more  lasting  than  was  the 
other  obedience  to  orders  which  in  themselves  were  a  reflection  on  the  manhood 
of  the  commanding  officers.  Had  Gen.  Hopkins  and  his  men  gone  on  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  cowardly  conduct  of  the  Illinois  Rangers,  history  would  have 
given  them  an  even  less  glorious  place. 

This  army  under  command  of  Gen.  Hopkins  was  composed  of  an  aggregation 
of  undisciplined  men,  enlisted  as  they  believed  to  defend  their  own  borders  of 
Kentucky  alone.  Discontent  arose  before  they  left  Vincennes  at  the  idea  of 
going  into  the  interior  of  the  territory,  and  it  increased  as  they  proceeded  until, 
at  Fort  Harrison,  some  of  the  men  broke  off  and  returned  home.  After  this, 
harmony  appeared  to  prevail  until  they  reached  the  Grand  Prairie,  when  the 
silence  necessary  to  an  army  in  an  enemy's  country  was  broken,  the  abundant 
game  tempting  the  men  to  straggle,  and  a  constant  firing  ensued  in  spite  of  the 
commands  of  Gen.  Hopkins  himself.  It  was  the  rainy  season,  there  were  no 
competent  guides  to  be  had,  they  lost  their  way,  and  confusion  prevailed  only 
short  of  insubordination.  When  they  encamped  for  the  night  of  the  fourth 
day  out  in  a  grove  of  timber  affording  water,  the  Indians  in  front  set  fire  to 
the  prairie  grass  which  compelled  the  soldiers  to  fire  the  grass  around  the  camp 
for  protection.  This  was  the  last  test  of  the  endurance  of  the  troops,  and  the 
officers  determined  to  disobey  the  orders  of  Gen.  Hopkins,  and  return  to  their 
homes.  They  agreed  to  his  dictated  order  of  return  march,  he,  thinking  he 
could  destroy  some  Indian  villages  on  the  way,  but  the  men  broke  through  all 
restraint,  the  regiment  became  a  mob,  and  each  man  chose  the  way  he  desired. 
The  actual  line  of  march  taken  by  these  troops  is  determined  only  by  the 
direction  and  the  distance  known  to  have  been  traveled.  Knowing  the  direction 
of  these  troops  and  the  distance  traveled,  the  decision  of  whence  came  the  cannon 
balls  found  on  the  bluffs  of  the  Middle  Fork  in  1869  is  more  readily  made. 

Judge  Cunningham,  in  his  history  of  Champaign  County,  gives  as  his  opinion, 
and  adds  reasonable  proof,  that  the  grove  with  water  "which  fixed  their  camp 
on  October  igth,  was  the  Big  Grove  on  the  Salt  Fork  timber,  and  that  the 
prairie,  which  then  skirted  it,  was  the  scene  of  the  brave  old  General's  discom- 
fiture. "  That  being  the  case,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  old  Kickapoo  village 
within  "one  and  a  half  miles"  of  the  old  salt  springs,  was  devastated  by  these 
very  troops.  While  cutting  down  an  abrupt  bluff  of  the  Middle  Fork  of  the 
Vermilion  river,  ten  males  west  of  Danville  for  the  passage  of  the  Indiana, 
Bloomington  &  Western  Railway  in  1869,  the  workmen  took  from  the  loose 
shale  composing  the  bluff,  two  cannon  balls  of  iron,  each  about  three  inches  in 
diameter,  which  balls  were  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Hon.  H.  W.  Beckwith 
previous  to  his  death.  There  was  no  one  able  to  account  for  their  presence  in 
that  bluff.  The  only  reasonable  assumption  appears  to  be  that  these  balls  were 
thrown  from  light  field  pieces  which  Gen.  Hopkins'  army  carried  with  them. 


56  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  only  other  armed  force  which  ever  passed  this  way  was  the  Spaniards  who 
came  in  1781.  If  this  army  did  pass  near  the  Indian  village  it  is  hardly  possible 
that  it  carried  guns  of  sufficient  caliber  to  have  thrown  these  balls  where  they 
were  found.  Gen.  Hopkins  made  his  campaign  in  the  early  autumn  when 
transportation  across  the  country  was  comparatively  easy,  the  distance  from 
Fort  Harrison,  his  base  of  supplies,  being  not  more  than  eighty  miles.  His 
object  was  the  destruction  of  Indian  villages  and  the  Kickapoo  village  was  here 
where  the  cannon  balls  were  found.  Furthermore,  General  Hopkins  had  a  force 
of  2,000  well-armed  and  mounted  men  while  the  Spanish  force  did  not  exceed 
150  men  and  officers  combined,  who  were  on  a  long  winter  march  and  were 
provided,  we  must  conclude,  with  nothing  to  impede  the  work  in  hand,  which 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  was  to  surprise  and  capture  a  force  much  smaller 
than  their  own,  protected  only  by  a  weak  stockade. 


HOUSE  BUILT  BY  FRANCIS  WHITCOMB 
Still  standing  in  Catlin 


CHAPTER  IX. 
FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  WAS  MADE  AT  THE  SALT  SPRINGS THE  NEXT  WERE  MADE 

AT  BUTLER'S  POINT  AND  JOHNSON'S  POINT — BROOK'S  POINT — MORGAN'S — THE 
M'DONALD  NEIGHBORHOOD — YANKEE  POINT  AND  QUAKER  POINT — THE  LITTLE 

VERMILION VERMILION   AND   EL  WOOD WALKER'S   POINT — DANVILLE  J   WHEN 

SETTLED THE  LE  NEVE  SETTLEMENT SETTLEMENTS  ON  THE  MIDDLE  FORK  OF 

THE   BIG  VERMILION — MOTIVES  FOR  SETTLEMENTS DIRECTION    WHENCE  SET- 
TLERS CAME. 

The  first  settlement  made  in  Vermilion  County  was  at  the  Salt  Springs.  This 
settlement  was  made  while  yet  the  springs  were  a  part  of  Edgar  County.  Joseph 
Barren  discovered  the  salt  springs  on  the  Vermilion  and  returned  to  Fort  Har- 
rison to  take  out  necessary  papers  that  he  might  immediate  develop  them.  While 
he  was  gone,  Truman  Blackman,  who  had  been  one  of  his  party  organized  an- 
other party  and  made  an  expedition  to  the  same  place  that  he  might  claim  the 
discovery.  When  Blackman  himself  returned  to  make  out  his  papers,  he  left 
two  men  to  stay  in  possession  until  the  third  could  come  back  with  his  family 
and  make  a  settlement.  Francis  Whitcomb  and  the  two  Beckwiths,  who  were 
left  at  the  springs  were  all  single  men  and  can  not  be  counted  as  settlers  until 
after  the  coming  of  Seymour  Treat  who  was  gone  after  his  family. 

In  the  later  pa'tr  of  November,  1819,  Seymour  Treat  arrived  at  the  Springs 
with  his  wife  and  family,  bringing  his  household  goods,  the  first  settler  of  what 
is  now  known  as  Vermilion  County.  Seymour  Treat  had  been  here  before,  he 
having  been  one  of  the  party  who  came  with  Truman  Blackman,  and  returned 
to  Fort  Harrison  for  his  family  and  tools  to  develop  the  salt  works.  He  came  up 
the  Wabash  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river  and  thence  to  the  springs 
in  a  pirogue.  This  way  had  probably  been  the  one  taken  by  Barren,  and  avoided 
by  the  second  exploring  party,  perhaps  because  of  the  fear  of  their  expedition 
being  discovered. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  upon  the  arrival  of  Treat  and  his  family  was  to 
get  some  place  where  they  could  have  shelter.  The  Beckwiths  and  Whitcomb 
were  all  good  axemen  and  with  their  help  it  was  not  long  before  a  good  cabin 
was  put  up.  This,  the  first  house  built  in  this  section,  was  constructed  of  small 
logs.  It  was  about  fourteen  feet  square  with  one  room.  Thus  the  first  settle- 
ment was  begun  and  Seymour  Treat,  Francis  Whitcomb,  and  the  two  Beckwiths 
were  the  first  settlers.  Treat  afterward  moved  to  the  site  of  what  was  later 

57 


58  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Denmark  and  building  a  mill  there  became  the  first  settler  of  what,  for  a  time, 
was  a  very  important  settlement  and  came  very  nearly  being  made  the  county 
seat. 

These  first  settlers  of  what  is  now  Vermilion  County  came  from  the  South, 
Treat  and  Whitcomb  from  Fort  Harrison  and  the  Beckwiths  from  the  North 
Arm  Prairie,  where  they  were  living  with  Jonathan  Mayo.  These  two  young 
men  came  from  New  York  State  three  years  previous  to  this  time,  just  as  the 
Harrison  Purchase  was  being  surveyed,  and  located  for  two  years  in  Vigo 
County,  Indiana,  coming  to  the  North  Arm  Prairie  in  1818.  The  two  young  men 
and  Francis  Whitcomb  were  better  enabled  to  endure  the  hardships  which  they 
found  in  this  part  of  the  country  than  were  the  women  and  children.  With  their 
nearest  neighbors  on  the  North  Arm  Prairie  some  forty  miles  away,  the  loneli- 
ness was  more~than  can  be  imagined.  The  men  could  hunt  and  fish  and  find  ad- 
venture in  the  wild  country  surrounding  them,  but  the  women  and  little  children 
were  left  to  work  as  their  only  way  of  passing  the  time,  or  to  the  more  wearing 
idleness  which  gave  opportunity  to  grieve  over  broken  home  ties,  in  the  more 
densely  populated  old  home  towns. 

The  year  after  the  settlement  was  made  at  the  salt  springs,  James  Butler 
came  to  the  point  of  timber  near  where  the  Catlin  Fair  Grounds  were  later  lo- 
cated, and  entered  land.  Two  or  three  of  his  neighbors  came  with  him  from 
Clark  County,  Ohio,  and  also  took  up  claims.  Johnson  built  his  cabin  on  the  right 
hand  side  of  the  road  leading  west  of  Catlin  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  branch 
which  was  called  by  his  name.  Here  he  put  in  a  crop  and  the  next  spring  re- 
turned to  Ohio  to  fetch  his  family  to  their  new  home.  It  was  a  lonely  place  to 
build  a  home  and  it  took  courage  for  a  woman  to  take  her  little  children  into 
this  wilderness.  Their  nearest  neighbors  were  at  the  Salt  Springs.  Even  at  that 
place  there  were  but  few  people.  The  men  who  first  came  out  with  Butler  from 
Ohio  lost  courage  and  refused  to  return  with  him,  preferring  to  stay  in  their  old 
homes.  Life  in  new  settlements  was  bad  enough  when  several  families  united 
in  forming  a  colony,  but  when  one  family  left  their  old  home  and  settled  in  a 
strange  place  alone,  it  took  great  courage.  A  half  dozen  years  previous  to  this 
time  Butler  had  left  his  boyhood  home  in  Chittenden  County,  Vermont,  to  locate 
in  Ohio  and  had  never  been  satisfied,  so  that  this  opportunity  to  go  yet  farther 
west  pleased  him.  Illinois  was  a  new  country,  having  been  a  commonwealth  but 
two  years  at  this  time.  But  the  loneliness  and  uncertainty  of  a  life  among  the 
Indians  in  this  far  away  place  beyond  civilization,  in  spite  of  the  treaty  now  in 
force,  were  more  than  the  friends  of  Butler  could  face,  so  it  was  but  the  one 
family  who  made  this  settlement  at  Butler's  Point. 

Within  two  or  three  years  Butler's  Point  became  an  important  settlement. 
Robert  Trickle,  John  Light,  Asa  Elliott  and  Harvey  Luddington  (the  latter  from 
the  salt  works)  all  came  to  this  settlement  before  Butler  had  been  here  two 
years,  and  this  settlement  was  conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of  the  earliest  days  of 
this  section.  About  the  time  Asa  Elliott  came  Francis  Whitcomb  moved  from 
the  Salt  Works  settlement  to  the  nearby  place  where  Catlin  is  now  located, 
married  and  made  it  his  permanent  home,  living  there  until  late  in  life  when  he 
moved  yet  further  west.  About  two  years  after  the  Butler's  Point  settlement  was 
assured,  a  little  clearing  in  the  timber  some  six  miles  west  of  the  Salt  Works 


THE  WOODIX  HOT'SE  IN  CATLIX 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  59 

was  made  by  Lewis  Bailey.  Bailey  sold  this  land  to  Harvey  Luddington  in  a 
short  time.  The  little  stream  nearby  was  known  as  Luddington's  branch  for 
years,  but  afterward,  as  Stony  Creek.  Later,  when  Mr.  Walker  opened  a  farm 
up  the  creek  near  the  present  town  of  Muncie,  the  place  became  known  as 
Walker's  Point,  but  was  never  a  promising  settlement.  The  same  year  James  D. 
Butler  built  the  first  cabin  which  was  the  beginning  of  Butler's  Point.  Henry 
Johnson  began  a  settlement  two  miles  west  of  present  day  Georgetown  by  build- 
ing a  cabin  on  section  36  (18-12),  afterward  calling  it  Johnson's  Point. 

Henry  Johnson  was  a  man  of  sterling  character  and,  as  a  neighbor  always 
held  out  a  helping  hand.  Absolom  Starr,  Henry  Johnson's  brother-in-law,  joined 
him  the  following  year.  Also  another  brother-in-law  by  the  name  of  Barnes 
came  to  this  settlement.  Jotham  Lyons  took  up  land  just  west  of  Johnson's  and 
John  Jordon  settled  a  little  to  the  east.  Absolom  Starr  came  from  Palestine, 
Illinois,  where  the  land  office  was  located.  He  selected  a  piece  of  ground  which 
he  thought  he  wanted  and  went  back  to  Palestine  where  he  raised  corn  and  wheat 
enough  in  the  season  of  1821  to  last  him  and  his  family  as  flour  and  meal  for  a 
year.  Few  pioneers  came  into  a  new  country  better  equipped  for  the  first  year's 
living.  He  brought  his  wife  and  four  children  to  Johnson's  Point  and  built 
them  a  little  cabin.  A  letter  written  by  Henry  Johnson  addressed  to  William 
Lowery,  the  member  of  the  legislature  from  Clark  County  at  that  time,  and  yet 
preserved,  fixes  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  this  settlement  beyond  a  doubt.  The 
letter  is  dated  "Achilles  Township,  November  22,  1822."  In  it  the  statement  is 
made  that  Johnson  "had  a  knowledge  of  this  township  since  October,  1820."  This 
letter  goes  on  to  describe  "Achilles  township,"  which  evidently  embraced  the 
whole  territory  of  Clark  County  watered  by  the  two  Vermilion  rivers,  and  ex- 
tending as  far  north  as  the  Kankakee  river. 

John  Hoag  and  Samuel  Munnell  began  a  settlement  north  of  the  Little  Ver- 
milion, the  year  Henry  Johnson  settled  south  of  that  stream.  This  settlement 
was  just  southwest  of  the  present  village  of  Indianola.  William  Swank  came 
to  this  section  in  1820  and  his  farm  embraced  a  part  of  the  present  town  of 
Indianola.  Alexander  McDonald  came  here  in  1822.  He,  with  his  father-in-law 
entered  much  land  around  here  and  this  place  was  long  known  as  the  McDonald 
Neighborhood.  A  settlement  was  begun  at  what  was  long  known  as  Brooks' 
Point,  the  same,  or  the  year  following  the  beginning  of  Johnson's  Point.  Benja- 
min Brooks  came  from  Indiana  and  chose  a  place  on  the  Little  Vermilion  for  his 
future  home.  Returning  to  Indiana  for  his  family,  a  Mr.  Spence  took  this  land 
in  his  absence.  Mr.  Brooks  was  very  much  disappointed,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  Benjamin  Canady,  who  had  just  come  from  Tennessee,  he  would  have  been 
in  a  sorry  plight  with  his  family  and  no  land  upon  which  to  build  a  cabin. 
Benjamin  Canady  was  a  tinker  and  peddler  and  had  land  further  north  which  he 
let  Mr.  Brooks  have,  and  this  point  of  timber  became  the  well  known  Brooks 
Point  during  the  first  years  of  the  life  of  Vermilion  County.  The  site  of  old 
Brooks  Point  is  now  known  as  Kelleyville.  While  Benjamin  Brooks  was  in 
Indiana,  Bob  Cotton  and  Thomas  O'Neal  came  to  this  same  section.  Thomas 
O'Neal  came  from  Nelson  County,  Kentucky,  and  lived  at  Brooks  Point.  His 
son  James  O'Neal  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  territory  that  is  now  Ver- 
milion County.  It,  however,  was  a  part  of  Edgar  County  at  that  time, 


60  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

and  for  three  years  afterward.  He  lived  in  the  Brooks  Point  neighborhood 
for  three  years  and  then  entered  80  acres  of  land  on  the  Big  Ver- 
milion, near  where  the  Kyger  mill  was  later  a  landmark.  A  neighborhood, 
first  called  Morgan's,  and  afterward  McHenry,  was  settled  south  of  Brooks' 
Point.  Subel  Ellis,  James  Ogden  and  John  and  Lewis  Ritter,  were  in  this 
neighborhood.  Jacob  Brazleton  settled  just  north  of  them.  Achilles  Morgan, 
with  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Martin,  came  into  what  is  now  Vermilion  County 
five  years  before  it  was  organized  as  such,  and  after  stopping  at  one  or  two  points, 
located  about  three  miles  west  of  Georgetown.  They  came  from  Virginia  and 
his  other  daughter  with  her  husband  George  Brock  visited  them  shortly  and 
also  located  at  the  same  place.  The  name  of  Achilles  Morgan  is  associated  with 
public  affairs  of  the  county  in  the  '205  and  '305,  and  his  descendants  have  left 
their  impress  upon  its  development.  He  was  one  of  the  first  three  county 
commissioners. 

Soon  after  the  first  settlement  at  the  Salt  Springs,  Mr.  Starr,  an  uncle 
of  Absolom  and  Barnett  Starr,  who  were  well  known  and  pioneers  of  the 
county,  bought  land  in  the  then  northern  part  of  Edgar  County,  but  later  he  came 
to  the  southern  part  of  Vermilion  County.  He  bought  eight  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  land  through  which  the  Little  Vermilion  river  flowed.  Mr.  Starr  lived 
in  Palestine  where  the  land  office  was  located  and  he  bought  much  land  for  specu- 
lative purposes.  This  particular  land  he  traded  to  John  Myers  for  the  eighty 
acres  of  land  he  had  in  Ohio.  John  Myers  was  better  known  in  his  day  as 
"Injun  John"  and  was,  as  may  be  inferred  from  his  nickname  ,a  man  of  strong 
characteristics.  On  his  way  out  here  Myers  offered  his  brother-in-law  a  quarter 
section  of  this  land  if  he  would  come  with  him.  This  his  brother-in-law  Joseph 
Frazier  agreed  to  do.  The  particular  tract  which  Frazier  received  is  now  a 
part  of  the  well  known  Sconce  farm.  A  year  later  Simon  Cox  came  to  this 
section  and  took  up  land.  This  was  in  1822.  Later  he  and  Myers  commenced 
to  build  a  mill.  First  they  tried  a  water  mill,  and  they  put  in  steam,  but  as 
neither  were  practical  millwrights,  they  did  not  succeed  in  this  enterprise.  Peter 
Summe  assisted  in  building  this  mill.  It  was  located  about  a  mile  south  of  what 
today  is  Indianola  and  formerly  was  Chillicothe.  Moses  Bradshaw  came  to  this 
neighborhood  about  the  time  Myers  and  Frazier  came.  He  stayed  here  but  a 
short  time,  however.  The  Richmond  family  lived  here  one  winter  and  summer 
and  then  moved  on. 

The  beginning  of  the  settlement  of  Vermilion,  now  known  as  Vermilion 
Grove,  was  the  cabin  built  by  John  Malsby  in  1820.  To  be  sure  he  abandoned 
the  house  and  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Richmond,  Indiana,  so  that  the  fol- 
lowing winter,  when  Mr.  Haworth  came  with  his  young  family  he  found  shelter 
already  provided.  Mr.  Haworth  had  left  Tennessee  three  years  before  to  get 
away  from  the  institution  of  slavery  which  he  hated,  and  had  spent  the  interim 
in  Union  County,  Indiana.  He  entered  several  hundred  acres  of  land  about 
Vermilion,  but  did  not  hold  it  for  himself  nor  sell  it  at  high  price ;  rather,  when 
anyone  came  along  whom  he  thought  would  be  a  desirable  neighbor,  he  sold 
his  land  cheap  and  on  time  payments,  if  so  desired.  In  this  way  he  lay  the 
foundation  for  a  community  of  good  people.  His  uncle,  George  Haworth,  soon 


THE  BOGGESS  HOUSE  IN  EARLY  TIMES 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  61 

came  to  this  neighborhood,  and  together  with  his  brothers  and  their  descendants, 
have  made  the  name  a  familiar  and  respected  one  in  this  part  of  Illinois. 

Henry  Canady  with  his  five  sons  came  from  Tennessee  in  the  autumn  of 
1821,  the  same  year  that  Mr.  Haworth  came.  But  they  became  discontented  and 
returned  to  their  old  home  in  the  Spring.  They  did  not  stay,  however,  but  by 
Fall  they  were  all  back  this  time  to  locate  permanently.  When  land  came  into 
market  Mr.  Canady  entered  about  two  sections  and  sold  it  out  at  congress  prices 
with  interest.  This  selling  of  small  tracts  of  land  to  different  owners  by  such 
men  as  Mr.  Haworth  and  Mr.  Canady,  cut  a  part  of  that  section  of  the  county 
into  small  farms  which  could  be  cultivated  more  thoroughly  than  larger  farms, 
and  opened  that  region  more  quickly  than  any  other.  These  small  farms  were 
later  bought  up  by  John  L.  Sconce,  John  Sidell  and  other  large  owners  who  have 
turned  them  into  vast  estates.  These  first  settlements  in  what  is  now  Vermilion 
County,  but  which  were  made  before  the  county  was  organized  as  such  were 
few  and  all  lay  along  the  two  Vermilion  rivers,  the  Middle  Fork  and  Salt  Fork 
of  the  Big  Vermilion  and  the  two  Stony  Creeks.  Along  the  Little  Vermilion 
the  points  of  timber  running  out  into  the  prairie  were  first  chosen,  and  Yankee 
Point,  and  Quaker  Point,  became  well  known  settlements.  The  first  named  set- 
tlement, that  of  Yankee  Point,  was  so  named  because  Mr.  Squires  'settled  here 
at  an  early  day  and  being  from  the  east  his  "yankee"  ways  were  more  noticed 
since  he  was  the  only  man  who  had  not  come  from  the  South. 

Quaker  Point  was  settled  by  those  who  belonged  to  the  society  of  Friends  or 
Quakers.  This  settlement  was  also  called  Bethel.  The  early  settlers  clung  to  the 
timber  for  a  decade.  They  were  afraid  of  the  prairie,  were  sure  no  one  could 
live  away  from  the  timber,  and  that  the  prairie  was  fit  only  as  a  range  for  their 
cattle.  The  early  settlements  were  all  made  about  the  same  date,  that  is,  in  1821, 
or  22,  or  23.  They  were  at  the  Salt  Springs,  Butler's  Point,  Johnson's  Point, 
Brooks'  Point,  Vermilion,  Elwood,  Yankee  Point  and  Quaker  Point.  The  Mc- 
Donald neighborhood,  Morgan's  and  near  what  is  now  Indianola.  The  settle- 
ment at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  was  not  made  until 
after  the  county  was  organized  and  a  county  seat  was  contemplated.  There  was 
not  any  settlement  at  this  place  but  land  had  been  entered,  and  the  location  of 
the  county  seat  was  desired  and  secured  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  promising  set- 
tlements had  been  made  in  other  parts  of  the  newly  organized  county.  It  was 
not  until  January,  1827,  that  the  selection  was  made  of  the  land  donated  at  the 
mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river,  as  the  future  county  seat  of 
the  newly  formed  Vermilion  County  and  its  settlement  begun.  This  was  two 
years  after  a  settlement  had  been  made  to  the  north  by  John  LeNeve,  and  a 
number  from  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  The  beginning  of  this  settlement  was  made 
by  Obadiah  and  John  LeNeve,  who  came  from  Lawrence  County  (it  was  then 
Crawford  County),  Illinois,  provided  to  make  their  future  home  in  this  section. 
Their  first  house  was  primitive  in  the  extreme,  being  but  a  square  laid  up  with 
logs  and  one  half  covered  with  puncheons,  although  the  entire  structure  was 
chinked  and  well  filled  with  pulled  grass.  This  cabin  was  built  in  the  winter  of 
1824  and  1825.  In  1828  Samuel  Copeland  began  a  settlement  west  of  here  and 
the  same  year  Mr.  Partlow  with  his  family  of  four  sons  came  to  the  Middle 
Fork  of  the  Big  Vermilion  river  to  make  a  new  home.  He  came  from  Kentucky. 


62  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  majority  of  the  settlers  of  Vermilion  County  came  from  the  South.  Some 
came  from  Ohio  and  a  few  came  from  further  east  yet,  but  they  were  not  many. 
Those  who  came  first  and  settled  Salt  Springs  developing  them  were  from  the 
North  Arm  Prairie,  and  those  following  and  settling  in  other  sections  came  from 
that  section,  and  yet  further  South.  Unlike  many  new  countries  the  most  of 
these  pioneers  were  law  abiding  men  and  developed  into  good  citizens.  The  large 
numbers  of  adherents  of  the  faith  of  Friends  made  the  material  from  which  to 
secure  the  very  best  people  possible  for  a  growing  country. 

Many  of  these  pioneers  came  from  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  because 
they  were  anxious  to  escape  the  hated  institution  of  slavery.  Many  came  from 
Ohio  where  they  had  paused  for  perhaps  a  generation  on  their  way  west  from 
Virginia  or  some  other  eastern  locality.  Many  others  came  directly  from  Vir- 
ginia. They  came  by  way  of  the  Ohio  and  Wabash  rivers  and  they  came  through 
the  country  on  horseback  or  with  ox  teams.  The  motives  which  brought  them 
were  as  various  as  were  their  direction  from  their  old  homes.  Not  all  came  to 
escape  a  hated  institution  in  their  old  homes  as  did  the  Haworths  and  the  Can- 
adays  who  settled  and  developed  the  peaceful  valley  along  the  Little  Vermilion 
river ;  some  saw  a  future  through  the  salt  industry  or  the  fur  trade  and  later  in 
the  fertile  land  that  was  theirs  for  little  more  than  the  taking;  and  yet  others 
were  filled  with  the  passion  for  adventure  alone.  Such  was  the  diverse  material 
which  went  into  the  foundation  of  Vermilion  County  and  made  indelible  im- 
press upon  its  institutions. 


CHAPTER  X. 
TRAILS  AND  EARLY  ROADS. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  MODERN  ROAD FIRST  THE  BUFFALO,  THEN  THE  INDIAN,  THEN  THE 

PACK-HORSE THE   DANVILLE   &   FORT   CLARK   ROAD THE  OTTAWA    ROAD HUB- 
BARD' s  TRACE. 

The  modern  road,  which  leads  from  place  to  place  and  makes  speedy  travel 
possible,  is  an  evolution  of  the  trail  of  the  Indian  which,  in  turn,  was  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  track  made  by  some  wild  animal.  The  instinct  of  all  animals  is  to  go 
from  one  feeding  spot  to  another,  and  to  the  best  and  nearest  drinking  place, 
with  as  little  expenditure  of  time  and  energy  possible.  To  this  end  there  is  no 
forest  so  dense,  nor  plain  so  wide,  that  does  not  show  the  paths  of  the  wild 
beasts  which  inhabit  it.  The  buffalo  made  the  first  roads,  or  paths,  or  trails,  as 
you  choose  to  call  the  tracks  he  left  as  a  guide  to  his  almost  equally  untamed 
successor  in  ownership  of  the  wilds — the  American  Indian.  Before  the  time 
roads  were  determined  by  legal  proceedings,  convenience  in  travel  directed  them. 
The  Danville  and  Fort  Clark  road  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  as  a  legal  road 
about  1834  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  but  it  did  not  owe  its  origin  to  this  legal 
action,  for  it  was  traveled  many  years  previous  to  this  date. 

In  1828,  at  its  September  session,  the  Board  of  Commissioners  entered  an 
order  appointing  "Runnel  Fielder  Supervisor  of  the  Fort  Clark  road  from  the 
Salt  Fork  to  the  western  line  of  Vermilion  County."  The  same  order  allotted 
all  the  road  work  due  from  residents  in  townships  19  and  20,  in  Range  9  and  10, 
to  this  piece  of  road.  But  even  this  order,  of  a  date  so  early  as  it  is,  was  not  the 
origin  of  this  well  known  road.  The  exact  origin  will  ever  remain  unknown, 
but  it  is  safe  to  surmise  that,  as  long  ago  as  the  buffalo  roamed  this  country  it 
was  his  path  leading  from  river  and  grove  to  the  East  to  river  and  grove  to  the 
West,  passing  the  spot  where  his  need  for  salt  was  met  in  the  springs  located  near 
the  Salt  Fork  of  the  Big  Vermilion  river.  Later  the  Indian  followed  the  same 
path  for  the  same  purpose.  Indian  villages  were  located  along  the  lower  Ver- 
milion river,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  intimate  friends  of  the  Indians  in  the 
Kickapoo  village  at  what  is  now  known  as  "Old  Town  Timber"  in  McLean 
County.  These  Indians  chose  frequent  intercourse  and  naturally  made  a  trail 
along  the  old  buffalo  track.  Indeed,  this  tract  must  have  been  used  before  these 
Kickapoo  villages  were  located,  because  the  Piankeshaws  probably  knew  of  the 
direction  of  the  salt  water,  when  they  were  in  possession  of  this  territory,  and 

63 


64  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

were  attracted  thither,  while  their  village  was  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  North 
Fork  of  the  Vermilion.    This  trail  was  probably  followed  by  Gen.  Hopkins  and 
his  soldiers,  and  maybe  by  the  Spanish  troops,  although  that  is  not  credited  by 
many.    This  was  by  no  means  the  only,  nor  the  first  trail  which  went  through 
Vermilion  County.    The  oft  times  traveled  trail  which  led  from  Kaskaskia  and 
Fort  Chartres  to  Detroit,  passed  across  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county. 
This  trail  can  yet  be  discerned  in  Edgar  County,  to  the  south.     The  region  of 
Vermilion  County  was  the  center  of  Indian  trails,  diverging  to  the  south,  the 
west,  the  southwest,  the  east,  and  to  the  north.    The  early  comers  into  this  sec- 
tion found  a  well  denned  road  from  east  to  west,  crossing  what  is  now  Vermilion 
County,  which  each  year  showed  more  and  more  evidence  of  travel,  as  it  was  used 
by  pioneers  in  going  from  Ohio  to  the  then  "West."    This  road  crossed  the  Big 
Vermilion  river  at  near  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork,  and  crossed  the  county, 
leaving  it  at  where  the  line  of  Champaign  County  makes  the  eastern  boundary. 
At  the  point  of  leaving  the  county,  the  Salt  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  crosses 
the  line  a  little  to  the  northeast  of  the  present  village  of  Homer.    The  highway 
was  the  well  known  "Fort  Clark  Road,"  over  which  the  great  tide  of  immigra- 
tion passed  from  the  states  east  of  the  Ohio  to  the  section  known  as  the  "Military 
Tract,"  the  name  of  the  lands  lying  in  the  western  part  of  Illinois,  between  the 
Illinois   and   Mississippi    rivers.     This   "Military   Tract"   comprised   the   lands 
given  the  soldiers  of  both  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and  that  of  1812.    There 
are  places  along  this  long  since  abandoned  road  that  yet  show  its  direction. 
These  are  great  gullies,  which  were  worn,  first  by  the  hoof  of  the  buffalo,  and 
afterward  by  the  oxen  and  wagon  of  the  pioneer,  but  it  takes  the  practice 
eye  to  distinguish  these  places  and  the  old  Fort  Clark  road  is  practically  lost.    It 
long  ago  was  changed  from  the  northern  route  to  the  southern  way,  and  the 
highway  going  in  the  same  direction,  is  known  as  the  Danville  and  Urbana  road. 
This  road  runs  to  the  south  of  the  old  one  but  is  very  much  the  same  which 
was  traveled  in  the  long  ago  through  Vermilion  County  and  which  is  referred 
to  in  the  following  description  of  a  traveler  in  the  early  twenties :    "After  safely 
crossing  the  state  of  Indiana,  then  a  wilderness,  I  entered  Illinois  where  Dan- 
ville now   is   near  to   where   I   found  a   small   settlement   and   some    friends. 
I  made  a  short  stay  at  these  Salt  Works  and  then  took  a  more  northwest  course, 
to  strike  the  Illinois  river,  my  map  and  compass  my  only  guide.    I  put  up  usually, 
where  night  found  me.    Striking  a  light  with  my  flint,  steel  and  punk,  I  wrapped 
myself  in  my  blanket,  and  with  the  broad  earth  for  a  bed,  slept  soundly.     My 
horse  became  very  cowardly  so  that  he  would  scarcely  crop  the  grass,  which 
was  his  only  sustenance;  he  would  keep  close  to  me,  following  me  wherever  I 
went  and  sleeping  at  night  by  my  side,  and  would  not  leave  me  at  any  time. 
With  no  well  defined  road,  only  the  Indian  trail  through  high  grass  and  bushes, 
over  the  broad  limitless  prairie,  or  along  the  timber  belts,  occasionally  meeting 
a  party  of  Indians  with  whom  I  conversed  only  by  signs,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
horse  and  rider  should  be  lonely,  suspicious  and  fearful."     Such  was  the  way 
along  the  afterward  "Fort  Clark"  road  which  was  the  most  direct  connection  of 
the  east  and  the  west.     The  writer  of  this  experience  goes  on  to  tell  of  his 
leaving  the   Salt  Works  of  the  Vermilion,  and  finding  no  white  man  until  he 
reached  Dillon's  Grove  in  Tazewell  County.     Later,  a  road  from  the  east  to 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  65 

Ottawa,  called  the  "Ottawa  road"  was  built  through  Vermilion  County,  passing 
to  the  north  of  Danville  on  the  way  to  Chicago.  It  was  a  state  road  and  within 
the  memory  of  many  citizens,  it  was  marked  with  milestones.  This  road  went 
direct  from  Danville  through  Denmark  and  had  a  branch  to  the  east,  north  of 
Danville  which  led  through  Newell  township  and  carried  trade  to  Covington, 
Indiana.  This  road  was  probably  the  developed  trail  from  Fort  St.  Louis  to 
Vincennes  and  Fort  Detroit  which  converged  at  Danville.  The  north  and  south 
road  known  as  the  "Hubbard  Trace"  was  a  very  important  highway  for  years. 

The  American  Fur  Company  had  stations  along  the  way  of  the  country 
between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  rivers  as  early  as  about  1785.  They  had  trading 
posts  on  the  Iroquois,  the  Little  Wabash,  and  the  Embrass  rivers.  In  1824 
Gurdon  Hubbard  was  put  in  charge  of  the  company's  trade  in  this  section  and 
soon  abandoned  the  trading  posts  on  the  Illinois  river,  doing  away  with  trade 
by  the  river  and  introduced  pack  horses  to  cover  the  way  between  Chicago  and 
the  southern  extreme  of  the  territory.  This  way  or  trail  from  Chicago  went 
directly  to  the  Salt  Works  and  thence  south,  so  it  is  seen  that  the  Hubbard  Trace 
(as  it  was  called)  was  to  the  west  of  Danville,  instead  of  being  the  old  direct 
state  road.  This  road  was  the  one  most  frequently  traveled  to  the  north  or  the 
south,  and  the  old  "Fort  Clark"  road  was  the  one  used  in  going  to  the  east  or 
west,  during  the  early  days  of  Vermilion  County.  And  together  with  the  Ottawa 
road  met  all  the  requirements  of  travel  of  that  day. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
PIONEER  LIFE  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

FOOD — SHELTER CLOTHING — EARLY       CONDITIONS       AND       CUSTOMS — MEANS       OF 

TRAVEL — SICKNESS — PROVINCIALISMS. 

When  the  pioneer  came  to  this  section  of  the  country  he  found  an  abundance 
of  food,  which  could  be  secured  with  little  effort  upon  his  part.  Wild  turkey, 
prairie  chicken,  quail  and  deer  were  plentiful  and  so  tame  as  be  to  shot  from 
the  cabin  door.  The  rivers  were  stocked  with  fish,  and  the  wild  ducks  and  other 
water  fowl  frequented  their  banks.  Although  mills  were  not  numerous,  the 
corncracker  mill  of  James  Butler's  was  not  out  of  reach  of  anyone  in  the  county, 
and  it  was  in  operation  as  early  as  1823. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  early  settler,  however,  was  great  and  even  could  over- 
come the  scarcity  of  mills  and  produce  material  from  which  to  make  the  ever- 
present  corn  cake,  and  the  "journey  board"  was  given  use  in  the  baking  of  the 
"journey  (johnny)  cake."  There  was  an  abundance  of  wild  fruit — berries, 
grapes  and  plums — and  along  the  Little  Vermilion,  persimmon  and  pawpaw 
trees.  All  this  for  the  first  year's  of  coming.  It  was  not  long  before  the  grains 
and  cultivated  fruits  were  a  part  of  the  daily  food,  since  the  fertile  land  re- 
sponded quickly  to  cultivation.  The  pioneer  woman  responded  with  as  ready 
service  in  the  preparation  of  this  food.  There  was  much  rivalry  in  the  skill  of 
the  women  who  came  to  the  county  in  these  early  days  and  excellence  was 
coveted  and  secured  by  the  most  of  them.  To  be  called  a  good  cook  was  praise 
that  was  appreciated,  and  to  be  the  best  cook  in  the  neighborhood  was  a  dis- 
tinction devoutly  to  be  desired.  The  abundance  of  food  naturally  led  to,  perhaps, 
over-feeding,  but  it  also  developed  the  talents  of  the  women  in  providing  their 
tables  with  a  quantity  that  has  made  Illinois  and  Indiana  famous  for  many  and 
varied  dishes.  Each  woman  vied  with  her  neighbor  to  have  more  food  upon  her 
table  and  the  gatherings  of  any  kind  were  opportunities  to  exhibit  her  power  to 
this  end.  Where  there  was  such  an  abundance  there  was  little  suffering  from 
lack  of  food  as  in  sometimes  the  case  in  new  countries. 

Corn  was  eaten  in  various  ways.  The  cake  then  served  was  "pound  cake" 
with  cornmeal  used  instead  of  wheat  flour.  Mush  and  milk  was  a  common  dish 
for  supper;  an  old  settler  in  telling  of  this  once  said,  that  one  should  have  one 
foot  in  bed  and  the  other  ready,  so  that  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  supper  he 
could  go  to  sleep.  Green  corn  was  boiled  and  roasted,  and  frequently  consti- 
tuted the  entire  meal.  Hominy,  known  as  lye  hominy,  was  prepared  by  soaking 

66 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  67 

the  corn  in  lye  made  from  the  wood  ashes,  until  the  husk  would  readily  leave  the 
grain,  when  it  was  pounded  in  a  mortar  and  thoroughly  broken.  The  mortar 
was  made  by  hollowing  a  solid,  dry  stump  or  log,  either  with  adz  or  by  fire.  The 
pestle  was  made  of  wood.  The  cracked  corn  was  of  two  grades,  large  hominy 
and  small  hominy.  Add  to  the  large  hominy  and  small  hominy,  the  large  pone 
and  small  pone,  Johnny  cake,  hoe  cake  and  dodgers,  dumplings  and  fried  cakes, 
and  the  use  of  corn  is  not  yet  exhausted.  For  drink  the  pioneer  sipped  his  bread 
coffee,  crust  coffee,  meal  coffee,  and  potato  coffee,  sassafras  tea,  spicewood  tea, 
beech  leaf  and  sycamore-chips  tea.  Their  vegetables  were  potatoes,  pumpkins, 
turnips  and  for  early  use,  greens  or  weeds. 

A  description  of  the  way  in  which  the  women  prepared  a  meal  as  given  by 
Judge  Davidson,  in  telling  of  early  times  many  years  ago,  is  interesting.  He  says : 
"The  fireplace  was  about  eight  feet  in  the  clear.  The  kettles  were  hung  over  the 
fireplace  to  a  strong  pole,  raised  so  high  above  the  fire  as  not  to  ignite,  from  heat 
and  sparks,  and  whose  ends  are  fastened  in  the  chimney.  The  kettles  were  sus- 
pended on  trammels,  which  were  pieces  of  iron  rods,  with  a  hook  at  each  end. 
The  uppermost  one  extended  from  the  pole  nearly  down  to  the  fire,  and  with 
one  or  more  short  ones,  the  kettles  were  brought  to  their  proper  height  above  the 
coals.  Wooden  hooks  were  used  until  iron  ones  were  obtained.  A  long  handled 
frying  pan  was  used  in  which  to  fry  meat.  The  women  held  the  frying  pan 
while  the  meat  cooked  and  she  cooked  also.  A  more  convenient  utensil  was  a 
cast-iron,  short  handled,  three  legged  spider,  or  skillet  which  was  set  upon  the 
coals  on  the  hearth.  Turkeys  and  spare-ribs  were  sometimes  roasted  before  the 
fire  suspended  by  a  string,  a  dish  being  placed  underneath  to  receive  the  drip- 
pings. To  care  for  this  meat  was  often  the  man's  work  on  a  day  when  he  was 
not  otherwise  busy,  and  it  is  told  by  a  devoted  daughter  who  loved  to  recall  his 
doings  how  he  (father)  would  attend  to  the  roast  on  Sunday." 

There  was  little  greater  effort  required  to  furnish  shelter.  All  material  was 
easily  procured.  To  be  sure,  these  houses  were  of  the  most  primitive  character. 
A  very  common  style  of  house,  and  one  that  could  be  easily  constructed  with 
tools  no  more  complicated  than  an  axe  and,  perhaps,  an  auger,  was  the  cabin  built 
wholly  with  the  material  to  be  found  in  the  timber.  A  description  of  a  house 
built  of  such  material  is  given  by  Judge  Cunningham  in  his  History  of  Cham- 
paign County,  and  as  it  is  as  good  a  picture  of  a  dwelling  on  that  side  of  the 
county  line  and  is  painted  with  well  chosen  words,  it  serves  this  county  as  well. 
"Small  logs,  or  poles,  suitable  to  build  a  house  large  enough  to  accommodate  the 
family  needing  it,  were  cut  and  hauled  to  the  site  chosen  for  the  future  home. 
Notching  the  ends  of  these  logs,  with  the  help  of  his  neighbor  or,  maybe,  an  In- 
dian, they  were  rolled  the  one  above  the  other  on  the  four  sides  of  the  building, 
until  the  suitables  height  of  wall  was  obtained.  Across  the  building  at  intervals 
of  three  or  four  feet,  other  logs  or  poles  were  laid,  until  a  foundation  for  the 
roof  of  the  loft  had  been  prepared,  having  in  view,  all  the  time,  symmetry  and 
smoothness  of  the  upper  room.  The  ends  of  this  building  were  then  carried  up 
a  suitable  height,  for  the  upper  room,  when  they  were,  by  shortening  each  suc- 
cessive log,  gradually  drawn  to  an  apex.  Again,  logs  or  poles  were  laid  from 
gable  to  gable,  for  the  support  of  the  roof,  to  be  made  of  boards  or  'shakes,'  of 
suitable  length,  split  from  some  nearby  oak  tree.  In  the  absence,  or  impossibility 


68  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  getting  nails  with  which  to  fasten  the  roof,  boards,  logs  or  poles  were  cut  of 
suitable  length  and  laid  lengthwise  of  the  building,  upon  each  successive  course 
of  the  roofing  material.  The  necessary  doors  and  windows  were  formed  by  cut- 
ting spaces  through  the  log  walls,  in  suitable  places  and  of  suitable  size.  Doors 
and  window  shutters  were  made  from  split  clapboards  and  hung  on  wooden 
hinges.  These  windows  sometimes  were  covered  with  paper  which  had  been 
well  greased  so  as  to  make  it,  somewhat  transparent.  Floors  were  made  of 
puncheons  split  from  trees,  one  side  of  which  was  hewed  to  a  plane  surface  for 
the  upper  side  of  the  floor,  while  the  other  side  was  notched  to  the  log  sleepers, 
upon  which  the  floor  rested,  the  edges  of  each  puncheon  being  lined  and  straight- 
ened so  as  to  fit  its  neighbor.  In  this  way  a  solid  and  durable  floor  could  be  made 
with  no  tool  other  than  an  axe,  and  an  adz,  to  level  and  smooth  off  after  the 
floor  had  been  laid. 

A  floor  could  be  made  of  white  ash  or  oak,  which  after  the  necessary  wear 
from  the  feet  of  the  dwellers  in  the  cabin,  presented  no  mean  appearance  when 
sanded  and  kept  clean.  For  a  ceiling  above,  a  ready  and  excellent  expedient  was 
always  at  hand.  In  summer  time  the  bank  of  the  linden  tree  readily  cleaves  from 
the  trunk  in  sheets  as  long  as  the  ordinary  cabin,  and  of  a  width  equal  to  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  log  from  which  it  is  taken.  Enough  of  this  to  furnish  the 
ceiling  of  an  ordinary  cabin  could  be  peeled  in  an  hour  or  so.  Placed  upon  the 
beams  which  had  themselves  been  peeled  before  being  placed  in  position,  the  in- 
side of  the  bark  turned  down,  with  poles  for  weights  on  top  to  prevent  curling, 
a  ceiling  at  once  tight  and  elegant  enough  for  a  fairy  castle  was  had,  which  time 
and  smoke  from  the  first  place  would  color  most  beautifully.  A  fireplace  was 
made  by  building  a  chimney  against  one  end  of  the  cabin,  using  boulders  and 
mud  which  made  a  cement.  This  wall  against  one  end  of  the  cabin  was  six  or  eight 
feet  wide  and  as  high.  On  top  of  this  wall  the  chimney  was  built.  This  chimney 
consisted  of  four  walls,  three  or  four  feet  square  of  sticks  split  from  the  oak, 
the  interstices  being  plastered  up  with  common  clay.  Often,  however,  for  want 
of  stones  out  of  which  to  make  the  back  of  the  fireplace,  it  was  made  of  clay  by 
first  setting  firmly  in  the  ground,  where  the  chimney  was  to  stand,  posts  or 
puncheons  of  the  shape  the  fireplace  was  to  take,  and  filling  the  enclosed  space 
with  moist  clay  firmly  pounded  down.  When  thus  built  a  sufficient  height  for  a 
fireplace,  the  chimney  was  topped  out  with  sticks  and  clay,  high  enough  to  se- 
cure a  good  draught  for  the  smoke,  when  the  wooden  moulds  in  which  the  fire- 
place had  been  set  were  burned  away  with  a  slow  fire,  and  the  chimney  was  com- 
plete. The  opening  upward,  formed  by  the  chimney,  served  the  double  purpose 
of  letting  out  the  smoke  and  letting  in  the  light  when  the  window  and  door  open- 
ings were  closed  to  keep  out  the  cold.  Many  yet  living  will  remember  having 
often  seen,  hung  up  on  the  crotches  of  trees  set  up,  so  as  to  reach  out  over  the 
opening  in  the  chimney  above  the  house,  the  family  supply  of  meat — hams  and 
side  meat — placed  there  to  be  cured  and  smoked  for  the  next  summer's  use. 
Every  one  who  has  used  it  thus  cured,  remembers  with  pleasure  the  delicious 
flavor  given  by  the  smoke  from  the  fire  of  hickory  wood  below.  After  the  cabin 
had  been  completed,  and  as  winter  approached,  the  cracks  between  the  logs  were 
chinked,  by  the  insertion  between  the  logs  on  the  inside  of  triangular  prisms 
split  from  the  linn  tree  and  fastened  in  their  places  with  wedges  driven  behind 


SAMUEL  LEXOVER 
Aged  One  Hundred  and  Eight  years 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  69 

them  into  the  logs,  the  outside  cracks  then  being  tightly  daubed  with  mud.  This 
process  was  technically  called  'daubing.' " 

As  time  passed  the  buildings  improved.  In  the  building  of  these  better  houses 
the  logs  were  usually  hewn  upon  two  or  four  sides,  well  notched  at  the  corners, 
so  as  to  fit  each  other  closely,  the  cracks  between  the  logs  being  well  pointed  with 
lime  mortar.  Glass  and  sash  for  the  windows,  lumber  for  the  doors  and  floors, 
with  an  attic  chamber,  nails  for  the  roofs  and  brick  for  the  chimney,  made  the 
houses  comfortable  and  inviting.  Such  houses  were  occasionally,  at  a  later  day, 
covered  on  the  outside  with  sawed  weatherboarding,  and  painted.  Such  was  the 
house  of  William  Golden,  at  Yankee  Point,  which  was  further  improved  by  a 
coat  of  red  paint.  As  the  facilities  for  obtaining  material  increased,  the  buildings 
grew  more  pretentious.  The  first  planed  floor  in  Danville  was  in  the  house  built 
by  Dr.  Fithian,  and  as  he  did  not  come  to  this  county  until  1830,  the  town  had 
been  for  a  half  dozen  years  with  puncheon  floors.  A  building  is  yet  standing  at 
the  edge  of  Catlin  which  is  made  of  the  bricks,  burned  in  the  Twenties,  by  Fran- 
cis Whitcomb,  also  one  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  constructed  entirely  of 
brick  which  was  made  at  not  much  later  a  date.  The  clothing  was  in  most  cases 
decidedly  "home  made."  Not  only  the  garments  were  cut  and  put  together  at 
home,  but  the  material  of  which  they  were  fashioned  was  a  product  of  home  in- 
dustry. A  few  sheep  to  furnish  the  needed  wool,  a  patch  of  flax  to  yield  the 
linen  for  wear  in  the  summer  months,  and  the  skins  which  the  hunter  secured  and 
cured  for  head  and  foot  wear,  gave  an  abundance  of  material  for  personal  adorn" 
ment.  The  women  took  pride  and  pleasure  in  carding  and  spinning,  and  weav- 
ing, as  well  as  in  sewing  and  knitting  and  coloring  this  material.  To  excel  as  a 
spinner,  whether  on  the  little  wheel,  where  the  flax  was  made  into  thread  for  the 
linen,  or  on  the  less  difficult  large  wheel,  where  the  wool  threads  were  made  to 
weave  into  heavier  cloth,  was  a  pride.  Standing  by  the  "big  wheel"  and  with 
measured  tread  walking  back  and  forth  with  a  definite  object  in  view  of  com- 
pleting a  given  amount  of  work  in  a  given  time,  the  girls  grew  into  graceful 
womanhood.  The  large  families,  which  was  the  rule  at  that  time,  made  it  pos- 
sible for  this  work  to  be  done  in  the  household.  There  was  no  question  of 
woman's  rights  because  woman's  duties  filled  her  time,  and  her  importance  in 
the  household  was  evident. 

She  was  in  evidence  in  the  preparation  of  the  food,  for  the  home,  in  the 
entire  manufacturing  of  the  clothing,  and  could  well  leave  the  provision  of  shelter 
to  the  men.  This  mutual  interdependence  of  men  and  women  in  a  new  country 
tends  to  bring  out  the  best  characteristics  in  each.  When  the  flax  was  grown  it 
must  be  pulled,  rolled,  broken,  scutched,  swingled,  and  hatched  before  it  was 
ready  to  be  spun.  In  rare  cases  this  work  was  done  by  the  women,  but  generally 
the  hardest  was  done  by  the  men.  It  was  work  which  required  great  strength 
and  was  better  fit  for  men  to  do.  When  the  flax  was  ready  the  spinner  began 
her  work.  After  it  was  spun  into  threads  the  weaver  took  it  and  employed  both 
skill  and  strength  in  her  work.  When  there  were  several  daughters  in  a  family 
the  spinning  was  often  done  by  one,  the  weaving  by  another,  and  the  meals 
prepared  by  yet  a  third.  There  were  many  homes  at  present  where  a  piece  of 
cloth,  the  product  of  a  grandmother's  skill  in  weaving  or  spinning,  is  proudly 
exhibited.  One  who  distinctly  remembers  the  time  of  spinning  of  flax,  and  has 


70  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

seen  all  the  implements  used  in  the  preparation  of  a  garment  from  the  time  it  is 
in  the  stalks  of  the  plant,  kindly  furnishes  the  following  information : 

"In  an  early  day  in  this  country  flax  was  raised  in  great  abundance,  and  from 
it  was  fashioned  all  the  household  linen,  and  much  of  the  wearing  apparel.  To 
those  who  have  known  little  in  regard  to  its  use  or  manner  of  preparation  such 
knowledge  will  be  of  interest  and  to  those  who  remember  handling  the  flax,  a 
few  words  on  the  subject  will  recall  days  long  gone  by.  The  flax  seed  was  sown 
not  later  than  the  first  of  May  and,  being  of  speedy  growth,  when  the  season  was 
favorable,  the  crop  was  harvested  in  August.  The  gathering  time  was  called 
'flax-pulling  time'  as  it  was  gathered  in  the  hand  and  pulled  or  jerked  from 
the  ground  by  handsful  and  spread  out  on  the  ground  in  the  field  in  rows  to 
'cure'  before  placing  in  bundles  in  the  'flax  pen'  where  the  rotting  process  was 
accomplished.  My  recollection  of  this  pen  is  that  it  was  built  of  rails  on  four 
posts  about  four  feet  high,  had  a  rail  floor  and  no  cover.  This  last  was  that 
the  flax  might  have  the  full  benefit  of  the  weather,  it  requiring  both  the  rain  and 
the  hot  sunshine  to  complete  the  rotting  process  which  was  essential.  I  can 
remember  how,  after  days  of  warm  sunshine,  when  there  were  indications  of 
approaching  rain,  the  family  would  rush  to  the  flax-pen,  and  each  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  turning  the  flax  over  that  it  might  all  be  exposed  to  the  weather.  After 
the  rotting  was  complete  the  flax  was  taken  to  the  break  which,  in  primitive 
times,  was  a  rudely  constructed  contrivance  for  breaking  the  woody  inside  fibre. 
This  break  was  made  of  several  hickory  slats,  fastened  together  at  each  end 
with  pieces  of  wood,  and  hinged  in  such  a  manner  that  one  end  could  be  raised 
and  lowered  between  other  similar  slats,  which  were  stationary  and  some  dis- 
tance apart.  At  one  end  of  the  top  set  of  slats  was  fastened  a  handle,  which 
had  to  be  used  vigorously  during  the  flax  breaking  process.  After  the  breaking 
was  complete  it  was  taken  to  the  scutching  board  which  was  a  very  smooth 
hardwood  board  placed  upright  with  the  lower  end  fastened  securely  in  a  heavy 
block  of  wood.  In  the  top  end  of  this  board  was  a  large  notch  or  curve,  which 
was  made  to  hold  a  handful  of  flax  while  it  went  through  the  scutching  process. 
This  was  accomplished  by  means  of  a  scutching  knife,  which  was  also  made  of 
hardwood,  was  about  nine  inches  wide  and  perhaps  twelve  or  fourteen  long  and 
very  thin.  The  handful  of  flax  (quite  a  bunch  of  it)  was  thrown  across  the 
scutching  board,  held  in  the  left  hand,  while  the  right  hand  wielded  the  knife 
vigorously  to  loosen  and  dislodge  the  woody  fiber.  After  this  it  was  taken  to  the 
hatcheling  board  on  which  was  securely  placed  a  board  with  two  sets  of  hatchels, 
one  coarse  and  one  fine,  made  of  wire  and  much  after  the  same  plan  as  those 
used  in  carding  machines  of  modern  factories.  After  the  flax  had  been  drawn 
through  these  many,  many  times,  until  all  the  fiber  had  been  removed,  each  bunch 
was  twisted  into  a  hank  of  silky  texture  and  was  ready  to  be  spun  into  thread  by 
the  industrious,  thrifty  housewife  on  the  little  spinning  wheel,  and  made  ready 
for  the  crowning  feat  which  was  accomplished  with  the  help  of  the  family  loom. 
It  was  woven  into  cloth  ready  to  be  made  into  articles  for  household  use  and  for 
garments  for  different  members  of  the  family.  Many  were  the  dextrous  achieve- 
ments of  our  grandmothers  in  this  line  all  of  which,  of  course,  had  to  be  done 
by  hand,  as  at  that  early  day  the  wildest  imagination  had  never  dreamed  of  a 
sewing  machine." 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  71 

The  garments  at  that  time  varied  little  in  cut.  The  women's  dress  did  not 
change  so  often  and  men  wore  the  same  cut  year  after  year.  But  if  the  fashion  of 
the  garment  were  not  so  complex,  and  all  the  work  was  done  by  hand  the 
stitches  which  put  them  together  were  most  carefully  taken.  With  a  sewing 
machine  and  its  product  never  having  been  seen,  the  fingers  did  better  work.  A 
piece  of  sewing  which  has  escaped  the  destruction  of  the  passing  years  is  found 
to  be  firmly  put  together  and  the  stitches  as  accurately  taken  as  any  machine 
could  make.  The  skill  in  sewing  as  well  as  the  superior  strength  of  the  material 
and  thread  makes  these  old  garments  worth  preserving. 

At  that  time  the  shoes  were  made  at  home,  but  were  generally  the  work  of 
some  one  man  who  had  learned  this  trade  in  Ohio,  or  Kentucky,  or  some  old 
home  whence  he  had  come  to  the  new  country.  These  shoemakers  would  go 
from  one  house  to  another  and  fit  out  the  family  with  shoes  while  there.  The 
caps  worn  were  made  from  the  skin  of  the  coon  and  were  popular  head  covering, 
not  only  because  the  skins  could  be  easily  obtained  but  these  caps  were  a  very 
comfortable  protection  from  the  weather. 

The  women  knit  the  stockings  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  and  in  this  knitting 
many  a  woman  found  a  means  of  expressing,  all  unconsciously,  her  secret  love 
of  the  beautiful.  Although  there  was  no  necessity  of  doing  more  than  procuring 
a  material  which  would  make  strong  and  warm  foot  covering  and  to  knit  it  in  the 
regular  way,  a  knitter  could,  if  she  so  choose,  color  her  yarn  after  she  had  woven 
it  as  fine  as  she  cared  to  do,  and  knit  it  in  as  fancy  stitches  as  she  pleased,  making 
even  so  prosaic  a  thing  as  a  pair  of  stockings,  a  "thing  of  beauty."  The  woods 
were  full  of  dye  stuff  which  the  lingering  Indian  squaw  could  teach  the  woman 
desirous  to  learn  the  art  of  producing  brilliant  coloring.  Some  beautiful  coverlets 
made  by  the  women  of  early  day  in  Vermilion  County  are  yet  well  preserved  by 
their  descendants  and  illustrations  of  these  are  given  in  this  volume. 

The  large  number  of  Friends  who  came  into  Vermilion  County  kept  their 
peculiar  dress,  procuring  the  material  therefor  in  the  same  way.  Their  garments 
were  fashioned  from  a  material  of  different  color  but  it  was  the  product  of  their 
own  industry,  just  as  was  the  material  which  fashioned  their  neighbors'  clothes. 

While  the  cabin  was  all  busy  within,  without  there  was  no  idling.  The 
spinning  wheel  was  the  stringed  instrument  upon  which  the  women  played  and 
they  made  every  house  a  woolen  factory,  but  the  industry  was  not  all  found  inside 
the  cabins.  The  wooden-mould  plow  was  busy.  As  description  of  which,  the  iron 
part  was  a  bar  two  feet  long,  with  a  broad  share  of  iron  welded  to  it.  At  the 
extreme  part  was  a  coulter  that  passed  through  a  beam  six  or  seven  feet  long,  to 
which  there  were  attached  handles  of  corresponding  length.  The  mould  board 
was  of  wood,  split  from  a  winding  piece  of  timber,  or  hewed  into  a  winding- 
shape  in  order  to  turn  the  soil  over.  The  triangular  harrow  or  drag,  was  also 
an  early  implement.  It  consisted  of  two  pieces  of  timber  about  six  feet  long  and 
five  inches  square,  hewed,  before  the  day  of  mills,  and  later  sawed.  The  end  of 
one  was  framed  into  the  end  of  the  other,  forming  an  acute  angle,  the  two  sides- 
kept  apart  by  a  crosspiece  of  timber  framed  into  the  others  near  their  centers, 
all  forming  the  letter  "A."  Before  iron  came,  wooden  teeth  were  used,  but  the 
prevalence  of  roots  destroyed  them  rapidly,  so  that  iron  teeth,  twice  as  heavy  as- 


72  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

those  now  used,  were  obtained  as  soon  as  possible.  The  farming  went  on  slowly 
and  arduously  these  days  before  modern  improvements  were  made. 

While  amusements,  as  we  consider  such,  were  unknown  to  the  pioneer,  it 
must  not  be  assumed  that  he  had  none.  There  were  many  sources  of  recreation 
not  known  to  those  who  never  get  from  the  irksome  jars  and  annoyances  of  a 
dense  population.  In  the  first  place  there  is  a  release  from  restraint,  a  sense 
of  wild  freedom  peculiar  to  the  frontier  that  is  exhilirating  and  enjoyable. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Indian  in  his  native  wilds;  the  Arab  coursing  over 
the  sands  of  the  desert;  and  the  pioneer  on  the  broad,  unoccupied  prairie, 
breathe  a  fuller  inspiration,  have  a  brighter  vision,  drink  in  with  a  keener  relish 
the  beauties  of  nature,  and  have  a  consciousness  of  a  more  noble  existence,  a 
higher  ideal  of  living  and  a  presence  of  an  Author  of  all  that  lives  as  cannot 
come  to  the  jostled  crowd  breathing  the  smoke  and  offensive  odors  of  the  popu- 
lous city  or  even  town.  Then  too,  the  occasional  social  pleasures  of  pioneer  life 
were  better  enjoyed.  A  visit  to  a  neighbor  settler  after  weeks  or  months  of 
absence  was  an  occasion  of  pleasure  which  is  less  intense  when  the  going  could 
be  repeated  every  day.  At  such  visits  experiences  were  related,  family  history 
given,  news  from  distant  friends  exchanged,  crop  prospects  and  newcomers  were 
discussed,  and  plenty  time  was  accorded  to  these  social  calls  to  insure  friendships 
cemented  as  is  impossible  in  these  days  of  hurry.  These  visits  were  made  regu- 
larly, and  were  a  subject  of  conversation  during  the  life  of  the  people  as  happy 
experiences.  This  same  cordial  friendly  feeling  is  rare  to  find  today,  and  will 
never  return,  to  a  more  densely  populated  country. 

There  was  an  abundance  of  game  which  made  hunting  great  sport  for  the 
men ;  then  there  were  the  log  cabin  raisings,  and  the  shucking  bees,  the  quilting 
parties  and  the  churchgoing.  If  a  man  had  a  cabin  or  a  barn  to  be  built,  his 
neighbors  expected  to  help  him.  They  would  come  from  far  and  near,  and  this 
was  an  occasion  for  the  women  to  show  excellence  in  the  food  provided.  An 
occasion  of  this  kind  is  described  in  a  history  of  Champaign  County  written  by 
Judge  Cunningham,  and  as  there  were  guests  present  from  Vermilion  County, 
and  doubtless  returned  the  hospitality  of  the  occasion,  it  is  of  interest  in  this 
connection. 

It  was  a  barn  that  was  to  be  raised  on  the  farm  of  Henry  Sadorus  in  1832. 
This  was  to  be  a  double  barn ;  that  is,  there  were  to  be  two  rooms  separated  by 
a  threshing  floor,  but  a  roof  covered  it  all.  The  whole  building  covered  ground 
thirty  by  sixty  feet.  Invitations  were  sent  out  to  neighbors  as  far  away  as  what 
is  now  Monticello,  and  was  even  sent  to  Eugene,  Indiana. 

In  three  days'  time  the  men  had  finished  the  barn.  It  \vas  built  of  straight 
ash  logs,  with  a  roof  of  split  boards,  held  in  place  by  weight  poles.  The  thresh- 
ing floor  was  of  split  puncheons,  so  well  lined  at  the  edges  and  smoothed  down 
with  the  adz  as  to  make  it  perfectly  tight.  Within  the  cabin  the  women  were 
busy  quilting  two  bed  quilts,  and  preparing  the  food  for  the  crowd.  As  evening 
came  on  the  work  was  all  put  away,  and  the  rooms  cleared  for  the  dancing.  The 
music  was  a  fiddle  in  the  hands  of  a  master  fiddler  named  Knight,  who  lived  in 
Danville. 

The  husking  bees  were  occasions  of  great  fun  for  the  young  people.  The 
corn  was  taken  to  the  barn,  and  great  effort  was  made  to  excel  in  the  work. 


GROUP   OF   OLD   SETTLERS    TAKEN"   AT   OLD    SETTLERS'    PICXIC  IX   LOXG 

GROVE,  IX  AUGUST.  1897.     MOST  OF  THESE  PIOXEERS 

ARE  XOW  DECEASED 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  73 

Proud  was  the  man  who  could  husk  the  most  ears  in  a  given  time.  Boys  and 
girls  competed  and  if  a  red  ear  was  found  the  frolic  grew  more  or  less  boisterous, 
because  that  was  the  occasion  when  the  girl  was  kissed.  But  of  all  the  social 
gatherings,  the  camp  meeting  was  the  best.  It  was  looked  forward  to  as  a  time 
of  greatest  social  enjoyment  as  well  as  of  intense  interest.  As  a  social  factor, 
as  well  as  religious  leader,  the  itinerate  Methodist  preacher  was  a  boon  to  the 
frontier  giving  occasion  for  the  people  to  come  together  in  their  quarterly  meet- 
ing and  camp  meetings. 

Vermilion  County  was  fortunate  in  having  a  large  number  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  among  the  early  settlers.  The  Quaker  Quarterly  was  a  happy  occasion 
for  the  young  and  old  people  alike.  Court  week  was  a  source  of  recreation  to 
many  of  the  early  settlers,  whether  they  had  business  at  the  county  seat  or  not 
Wolf  hunts  were  made  occasions  of  healthy  sport,  and  even  yet  stories  of  wolves 
are  told  at  Old  Settlers'  meetings,  as  personal  experiences.  One  prominent  early- 
citizen  of  Vermilion  County,  who  was  the  father  and  grandfather  of  many  who 
have  since  been  history  makers  in  this  section,  took  advantage  of  a  characteristic 
of  wolf  nature  and  saved  his  flock  of  sheep  one  night  in  the  long  ago.  The  sheep 
were  penned  up  in  an  enclosure  built  against  the  cabin,  "because,"  his  son  says, 
"wolves  would  not  kill  sheep  if  so  penned  up.  They  wanted,  them  out  in  the 
open,  where  they  would  run  and  the  wolves  chase  them."  Being  so  penned  up 
on  bright  nights  when  the  moon  was  shining  the  owner  of  them  who,  by  the  way, 
was  a  gentle  natured  Quaker,  was  awakened  by  the  baying  of  wolves  quite  near, 
and  looking  through  the  cracks  of  the  cabin  he  saw  a  wolf  on  the  top  of  the  rude 
fence  with  which  he  had  enclosed  the  sheep.  Reaching  for  his  trusty  rifle,  he 
shot  not  only  that  one  but  the  others  as  they  approached,  without  leaving  his  bed. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  were  more  homesick  women  than  men  in  the  early 
settlements  and  doubtless  Vermilion  County  was  no  exception  to  the  rule;  and 
this  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  of  more  provision  being  made  for  amusements 
for  men  than  for  women.  True  it  is  that  the  home  duties  kept  the  women  from 
as  much  relaxation  as  the  men  had,  but  they  were  not  entirely  deprived  of  the 
social  amusements.  In  the  first  place  they  had  the  pleasures  of  their  homes,  and 
the  care  of  their  children  free  from  the  obligations  of  the  wearisome  demands 
of  society,  and  then  they  were  not  lacking  in  intercourse  with  their  fellows.  A 
quilting  bee  brought  the  women  of  the  neighborhood  together,  and  usually  lasted 
all  day,  the  guests  sometimes  coming  before  breakfast  and  staying  until  dark. 
But  the  women  find  it  hard,  usually,  to  break  home  ties  and  unless,  as  in  the 
cases  where  many  of  the  family  came  together,  the  old  home  drew  her  back  with 
more  force  than  it  did  the  man.  The  young  women  had  their  amusements  at  the 
"shucking  bees"  and  at  dances,  although  they  had  to  ride  sometimes  a  long  way 
to  reach  the  frolic.  They  usually  rode  on  the  same  horse  as  their  escort,  sitting 
up  behind  him. 

The  early  settlers  of  this  county  met  two  dread  diseases  when  they  reached 
the  Wabash  valley ;  one  was  what  was  called  Milk  sickness  and  the  other  was 
the  prevalent  fever  and  ague  of  the  place.  When  memory  recalls  the  genuine 
Wabash  fever  and  ague,  a  wonder  arises  that  the  people  had  the  courage  to  re- 
ma^  in  a  section  that  carried  such  a  perpetual  illness.  The  fact  that  it  being  so 
common  an  affliction  was  not  considered  of  as  much  consequence  as  it  otherwise 


74  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

would  have  been,  makes  it  no  less  an  unbearable  condition  of  affairs.  Miasma 
has  been  the  foe  of  the  pioneer  all  the  way  across  the  continent,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi valley  has  harbored  this  element  and  yielded  up  the  sacrifice  of  its  best  citi- 
zens during  the  years  of  its  early  settlement.  The  courage  to  meet  the  wild  beast 
in  the  new  country;  to  endure  the  privations  and  sacrifices  of  frontier  life  is 
one  thing;  but  to  bravely  accept  the  terrors  of  the  certainty  of  returning  fever 
and  chills,  requires  a  fortitude  that  is  a  wonder.  In  the  season  which,  for  the 
fortunate  was  only  the  fall  and  spring,  the  day  dawned  but  to  bring  a  "shake"  to 
be  followed  by  a  raging  fever.  Yet  these  conditions  were  met  with  scarce  a  mur- 
mur by  the  pioneers  of  this  section  of  the  country. 

The  provincialisms  were  more  noticeable  in  manner  of  speech  than  elsewhere. 
Carelessness  of  talking  is  to  be  expected  where  there  is  no  more  restraint  than 
is  to  be  found  in  a  new  country.  With  the  careless  speech  of  parents  children 
had  no  model  and  grew  up  to  think  provincialism  the  correct  form.  The 
peculiar  speech  of  the  slaves  in  the  south  was  caught  by  the  men  and  women 
who  later  made  their  homes  in  southern  Illinois  and  handed  down  to  their  chil- 
dren to  be  cherished  and  made  a  part  of  their  conversation  until  the  settlements 
from  Kentucky  and  Virginia  revealed  the  origin  of  the  neighborhood.  This 
peculiarity  of  speech  from  those  born  in  the  southern  states  has  awakened  dis- 
cussion as  to  whether  it  is  the  result  of  mingling  with  the  slaves  or  whether  the 
accent  of  the  slave  is  not  the  result  of  living  with  the  southern  people.  Who 
can  tell  the  origin  of  the  southern  tongue,  since  the  African  did  not  bring  a  lan- 
guage with  "him  but  used  the  one  he  found  here.  Whether  the  one  or  the  other 
is  the  correct  notion,  the  fact  remains  that  the  speech  of  Vermilion  County 
savored  of  the  dialect  of  the  region  from  which  the  early  settlers  came,  and  the 
turn  of  the  words  as  well  as  the  tone  of  voice  all  testified  to  the  old  Virginia  or 
Kentucky  home  whence  they  came.  A  "bucket"  was  never  a  "pail"  as  it  was  to 
the  few  eastern  men  and  women  who  came  into  this  section.  These  people  of 
Vermilion  County  never  "guessed;"  they  always  "reckoned."  They  were  "pow- 
erful weak"  and  "mighty  porely"  and  "peared  like  couldn't  gain  no  strength," 
but  with  all  were  a  kind  hearted,  generous,  whole  souled  people  who  are  dear  in 
their  provincialism,  and  cheerfully  burned  their  rag  in  a  saucer  of  grease  for 
light,  set  the  houses  on  corner  props  and  let  the  swine  live  underneath,  and 
looked  upon  the  newcomer  from  the  more  cultured  east  with  frank  admiration 
and  gave  a  helping  hand  where  it  was  needed. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  ORIGIN  AND  EVOLUTION  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

COUNTY  ORGANIZATION    IN    ILLINOIS   DATES   BACK   TO    1779 — THE  COUNTY   OF  ILLI- 
NOIS  ST.   CLAIR  AND  RANDOLPH    AS   COUNTIES  OF   THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

KNOX  COUNTY KNOX  AND  ST.  CLAIR  COUNTIES MADISON  COUNTY ED- 
WARDS COUNTY CRAWFORD  COUNTY CLARK  COUNTY EDGAR  COUNTY VER- 
MILION COUNTY REDUCED  TO  PRESENT  LIMITS BELONGS  TO  SECOND  CLASS 

GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  COUNTY TOWNSHIP   ORGANIZATION  J    WHEN    EFFECTED 

ORIGIN  OF  NAME  OF  VERMILION   COUNTY. 

After  the  conquest  of  the  country  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river  by  George 
Rogers  Clark  in  1778,  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  held  it  as  its  own  and  called 
it  the  county  of  Illinois.  This  territory  was  duly  governed  as  such  with  the  coun- 
ty seat  at  Kaskaskia,  the  former  Capital  of  both  French  and  British  Government 
in  the  Illinois  country.  Capt.  John  Todd  was  appointed  "County  Lieutenant  Com- 
mandant," but  the  machinery  of  this  government  was  never  effectually  set  up, 
and  it  soon  ceased  to  run.  After  concessions  asked  and  granted  by  all  the  new 
states  of  the  young  Republic,  Virginia  surrendered  all  claims  to  the  general  gov- 
ernment in  1784,  and  congress,  sitting  under  the  articles  of  confederation,  passed 
"An  Act  for  the  government  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  river."  Under  this  ordinance  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory  and  in  1790  organized,  by  proclamation,  the  county  of  St. 
Clair,  named  in  honor  of  himself.  This  proclamation  was  issued  April  27,  1890. 
The  boundaries  of  this  first  county  can  be  seen  by  drawing  a  line  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Little  Mackinaw  in  Tazewell  County  to  the  mouth  of  Massac  creek  in 
Massac  County.  All  the  territory  included  within  this  line  on  one  side  and  the 
Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers  on  the  other,  constituted  St.  Clair  County.  But 
this  county  was  small  compared  with  another  which  was  created  by  proclama- 
tion, June  20  of  the  same  year.  This  was  Knox  County  and  included  about  half 
the  state  of  Illinois,  the  whole  of  Indiana,  that  part  of  Ohio  west  of  the  great 
Miami  river,  and  the  greater  part  of  Michigan,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Wis- 
consin, as  these  states  exist  at  present.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  settle- 
ments in  the  Illinois  country  were  along  that  part  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  what 
was  later  known  as  the  American  Bottoms,  and  about  Vincennes.  St.  Clair 
County  was  organized  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  former  and  Knox  County  was 
organized  to  meet  those  of  the  latter.  October  5,  1795,  St.  Clair  County  was 
divided  by  the  creation  of  Randolph  County  in  the  southern  part,  doubtless  to 

75 


76  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

accommodate  the  sparce  settlements  along  the  Ohio  river  which  were  made 
after  the  Revolutionary  war  was  over. 

February  6,  1801,  William  Henry  Harrison,  then  Governor  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  of  which  the  territory  now  known  as  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  is  a 
part,  issued  his  proclamation  continuing  the  counties  of  St.  Clair  and  Randolph 
as  counties  of  Indiana  Territory  but  changed  their  boundaries  and  enlarged  their 
areas.  Up  to  this  time  the  entire  territory  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  river 
belonged  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  but  it  now  had  been  divided  by  the  taking 
of  what  is  now  the  state  of  Ohio  and  making  therefrom  the  territory  of  Ohio. 
All  the  remaining  territory  was  called  the  Indiana  Territory  and  William  Henry 
Harrison  was  made  Governor  of  it.  In  the  change  of  boundary  lines  of  the 
then  existing  counties  in  the  western  part  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  Randolph 
County  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  line  drawn,  from  a  point  on  the  Mississippi 
river  about  nine  miles  south  and  one  mile  west  of  the  present  town  of  Waterloo, 
east  to  a  line  drawn  north  from  the  "Great  Cave"  on  the  Ohio  which  can  now 
be  located  as  near  the  village  of  Cave-in-Rock,  in  Hardin  County.  This  line  was 
also  the  southern  boundary  of  St.  Clair  County,  whose  eastern  boundary  angled 
to  the  northeast  from  this  point  to  the  mouth  of  the  "Kenomic  river"  or  as  some- 
times called  the  "Kalamik"  or  "Calumet,"  a  smiall  stream  flowing  into  the  south- 
ern bend  of  Lake  Michigan  in  Lake  County,  Indiana. 

All  east  of  this  line  was  in  Knox  County.  Drawing  this  line  on  a  map,  it  is 
readily  seen  the  territory  now  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  by  that  division  lies 
partly  in  St.  Clair  and  partly  in  Knox  Counties.  The  line  passes  directly  through 
what  is  now  Danville.  A  later  proclamation  of  Gov.  Harrison  readjusted  the 
division  line  between  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  but  made  no  change  be- 
tween St.  Clair  and  Knox  Counties.  This  division  line  remained  unchanged  until 
after  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Illinois  in  1809.  After  the  division  and 
organization  of  the  Territory  of  Illinois  in  1809,  Nathaniel  Pope  became  secretary 
and  acting  governor  of  the  new  territory.  He  at  once  issued  a  proclamation  con- 
tinuing St.  Clair  and  Randolph  Counties  without  change  of  boundaries  except 
that  the  eastern  boundary  of  each  was  continued  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
territory,  now  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 

This  gave  to  Randolph  additional  territory  on  the  east  and  to  St.  Clair,  a  tri- 
angular strip  along  the  southern  part  and  took  from  it  a  triangular  strip  from  the 
northern  part  of  its  eastern  side,  and  eliminated  Knox  County  from  Illinois  Terri- 
tory. By  this  change  of  boundaries  the  territory  now  Vermilion  County  was  alto- 
gether in  St.  Clair  County,  with  its  county  seat  at  Cahokia  on  the  west  side  of  the 
state  opposite,  and  a  little  lower  than  St.  Louis.  To  go  to  the  county  seat  would 
require  a  journey  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles. 

Since  the  settlements  in  Illinois  Territory  were  altogether  in  the  southern  part 
of  what  is  now  the  state,  the  division  into  counties  at  this  time  was  of  necessity 
to  help  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  territory.  So  it  was  that,  when  Ninian  Ed- 
wards became  governor,  he  created  three  new  counties  in  the  region  bounded  on 
the  south  and  west  by  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  A  line  drawn  east  from  the 
Mississippi  river  to  the  Wabash  river  along  the  southern  boundary  of  what  is  now 
Madison  County  was  about  the  northern  boundary  of  settlements,  and  such  a  line 
was  made  the  southern  boundary  of  the  new  county  of  Madison.  Thus  it  was 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  77 

that  the  territory  now  Vermilion  County  became  a  part  of  Madison  County,  with 
county  seat  at  Palestine,  on  the  Wabash  river. 

This  proclamation  of  Gov.  Edwards  was  the  last  in  which  counties  were  cre- 
ated in  that  way.  In  this  year  Illinois  was  raised  to  the  second  grade  of  terri- 
torial government,  and  the  creation  of  new  counties  and  the  alterations  of  county 
lines  devolved,  thereafter,  upon  the  territorial  legislature.  On  November  20,  1814, 
the  territorial  legislature  passed  a  bill  dividing  Madison  County,  and  creating 
Edwards  County  on  the  east  side  thereof.  This  act  made  the  territory  now  Ver- 
milion County  within,  and  subject  to,  the  government  of  Edwards  County,  with 
the  county  seat  yet  at  Palestine.  However,  there  were  none  within  this  terri- 
tory other  than  the  Kickapoo  and  Pottowatomie  Indians  to  be  affected  by  the 
change.  The  year  1816  saw  Edwards  County  very  much  restricted,  and  the  ter- 
ritory lying  north  of  the  line  dividing  towns  3  and  4  north  and  east  of  the  third 
principal  meridian,  became  Crawford  County,  and  the  now  Vermilion  County,  in- 
habited as  it  was  yet  with  the  red  man,  was  in  the  new  County  of  Crawford,  with 
county  seat  some  miles  further  up  the  Wabash  at  Aurora.  There  was  no  change 
for  three  years  or  until  the  treaty  of  Edwardsville,  in  1819,  when  Crawford  County 
in  its  turn  was  restricted  and  the  new  County  of  Clark  was  made  from  its  northern 
part.  Clark  County  was  created  March  22,  and  extended  from  the  third  principal 
meridian  to  the  Indiana  state  line  and  from  its  present  southern  county  boundary 
to  the  Wisconsin  state  line  on  the  north.  The  county  seat  remained  at  Aurora. 

Although  in  1821,  Clark  County  was  restricted  to  make  room  for  Fayette,  the 
division  did  not  effect  the  section  which  was  being  settled  about  the  Vermilion 
Salines. 

This  division  of  Clark  County  was  made  because  Vandalia  had  been  chosen  for 
the  future  seat  of  government  of  Illinois,  and  it  was  considered  necessary  to  sur- 
round it  with  a  suitable  county.  Clark  County  at  that  time  comprised  the  present 
Counties  of  Clark,  Cumberland,  Coles,  Douglas,  Edgar,  Champaign,  Vermilion, 
Iroquois,  Ford,  a  part  of  Livingston,  Grundy,  Kendall,  Kane  and  McHenry,  with 
all  of  Kankakee,  Will,  DuPage,  Cook  and  Lake. 

In  1823,  Clark  County  was  much  reduced  in  area.  It  included  its  present  ter- 
ritory and  that  of  Cumberland  County,  together  with  about  one-half  of  Coles 
County.  Of  its  remaining  territory  the  present  County  of  Edgar  was  created  with 
the  same  boundaries  as  it  now  has.  The  unorganized  territory  to  the  north  and 
west  of  it  was  temporarily  attached  to  it  for  judicial  purposes.  The  early  years 
of  settlement  on  the  Vermilion  and  its  tributaries  included  this  period,  when  this 
territory  was  temporarily  attached  to  Edgar  County  with  Paris  as  county  seat. 
Three  years  later  the  population  of  these  settlements  had  so  increased  that  a  new 
county  was  created  from  a  part  of  this  "attached"  territory  and  Vermilion  County 
came  into  being. 

By  Section  I,  of  the  Act  of  January  18,  1826  (Laws  of  1826-7,  page  50),  it 
was  declared  that  all  that  tract  of  country  within  the  following  bounds,  to-wit: 
"Beginning  on  the  state  line  between  Indiana  and  Illinois,  at  the  northeast  comer 
of  Edgar  County  (the  act  organizing  Edgar  County  fixes  the  northern  boundary 
by  a  line  running  east  and  west  between  townships  16  and  17;  thence  west  with 
the  line  dividing  townships  16  and  17  to  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township  17 
N.  of  R.  10  east;  thence  north  to  the  northwest  corner  of  township  22  north; 


78  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

thence  east  to  the  Indiana  state  line;  thence  south  with  that  state  line  to  the 
place  of  beginning,"  should  constitute  a  separate  county  called  Vermilion.  This 
description  would  hold  good  for  Vermilion  County  as  it  is  now  with  the  excep- 
tion that  it  extends  the  line  on  the  west  ten  miles  into  Champaign  County  and 
falls  short  of  its  northern  boundary  by  six  miles.  By  the  seventh  section  of  the 
act  referred  to  "all  that  tract  of  country  lying  east  of  R.  6,  east  of  the  3rd  prin- 
cipal meridian  and  north  of  Vermilion  County,  as  far  north  as  the  Illinois  and 
Kankakee  rivers"  is  attached  to  Vermilion  County  for  judicial  purposes.  This 
denotes  the  restriction  of  the  attached  territory  of  Edgar  County  to  that  which 
was  located  directly  on  the  west  that  is  now  all  of  Douglas  County  and  that  por- 
tion of  Coles  County  which  was  not  included  in  Clark  County. 

The  territory  which  adjoined  Vermilion  County  on  the  west  at  that  time  but 
later  became  Champaign  County,  and  all  the  country  north  of  its  boundary,  was 
temporarily  attached  to  Vermilion  county  for  judicial  purposes.  The  date  of  the 
organization  of  Vermilion  County  was  January,  1826.  This  attached  territory 
remained  the  same  until  January  15,  1831,  when  Cook  County  was  formed  and 
took  a  large  part  of  it  off.  The  much  discussed  question  of  whether  Chicago  was 
ever  under  the  government  of  Vermilion  County  can  very  easily  be  settled.  It  has 
always  been  a  favorite  tradition  among  the  older  settlers  that  at  one  time  Chicago 
was  a  part  of  Vermilion  County  and  many  are  the  tales  told  in  evidence  of  this  be- 
lief. [This  too  although  one  at  least  of  the  writers  of  the  history  of  the  county 
flatly  contradicts  any  such  thing.]  This  idea  of  Chicago  being  at  any  time  a  part 
of  Vermilion  County,  comes  either  from  the  fact  that  when  Vermilion  County  was 
a  part  of  Clark  County,  all  of  the  territory  north  of  the  present  southern  boundary 
of  that  county  was  a  part  of  it,  and  Chicago  was  included  in  the  aforementioned 
"territory  north",  or  that  it  is  not  understood  how  the  northern  boundary  was 
changed  even  before  it  became  attached  territory  to  Edgar  County.  Clark 
County,  before  its  limits  were  restricted,  covered  all  the  country  from  its  southern 
boundary  to  the  Wisconsin  state  line,  but  when  Edgar  County  was  created  the 
territory  north  and  west  of  it  was  attached  thereto,  but  it  was  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Illinois  and  Kankakee  rivers.  To  be  yet  more  exact,  the  northern 
limits  of  this  attached  territory  was  a  line  drawn  from  about  where  the  city  of 
Kankakee  is  now  located,  straight  north  to  a  point  due  east  of  the  southern 
boundary  line  of  Kane  County,  and  there  turned  and  continued  further  east  to 
the  state  line.  This  line,  together  with  the  Illinois  river,  furnishes  the  eastern 
and  southern  boundary  of  the  territory  attached  to  the  new  county  of  Fulton, 
and  restricted,  materially,  the  attached  territory  of  Edgar  and  later  Vermilion 
Counties.  Examining  the  territory  below  this  line  it  is  evident  that  Chicago  was 
never  within  the  limits  of  Vermilion  County,  and  yet,  this  area  does  include  a 
part  of  the  present  Cook  County,  and  a  portion  of  the  southern  part  of  Chicago, 
and  of  course  was  at  one  time  under  the  government  of  said  county.  The  taxes 
Sheriff  Reed  paid  out  of  his  own  pocket  rather  than  collect,  were  doubtless 
levied  on  that  portion  of  what  is  now  Cook  County,  lying  south  of  the  line 
drawn  north  of  Fort  Dearborn. 

In  1833,  Champaign  County  was  created  from  unorganized  territory  west 
of  Vermilion  County  and  also,  a  portion  of  the  same.  This  reduced  Vermilion 
County  on  the  west  ten  miles  its  entire  length.  The  same  year  Iroquois  County 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  79 

was  created  and  the  act  extended  the  northern  boundary  of  Vermilion  County 
six  miles,  making  it  what  it  is  now. 

It  was  while  Vermilion  County  was  a  part  of  Clark  and  the  county  seat  was 
at  Aurora  that  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  made  at  the  Salt  Springs,  on 
the  Vermilion  river.  Vermilion  County  was  created  January,  1826,  and  its 
seat  of  justice  was  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Big  Vermilion, 
in  January,  1827. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  regulation  of  official  fees  and  salaries,  the  counties 
of  Illinois  are  divided  into  three  classes :  Those  of  not  more  than  25,000  popu- 
lation are  of  the  first  class,  those  of  more  than  25,000  population  belong  to  the 
second  class,  and  those  of  more  than  100,000  population  belong  to  the  third 
class.  Cook  County  is  the  only  one  in  this  class  in  the  state.  Vermilion  County 
had  a  population,  in  1900,  of  65,635,  and  the  last  census  (1910)  gives  it. 

The  powers  of  a  county  as  a  body  politic  and  corporate  are  exercised  by  the 
county  board  which  in  counties  under  township  organization  consists  of  the 
supervisors  from  the  several  townships  of  the  county.  Vermilion  County  voted 
township  organization  in  1851. 

Vermilion  County  was  so  named  from  the  river  of  that  name  which  in  its 
principal  branches  flows  through  the  county  and  takes  its  peculiar  spelling. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

TOPOGRAPHY DRAINAGE  RELIEF  PRAIRIES RIDGES VALLEYS  GEOLOGY 

ROCKS     SELDOM      APPEAR     AT      SURFACE COAL-BEDS MORAINES VERMILION 

COUNTY  BELONGS  TO  THE  ILLINOIS  GLACIAL  LOBE THE  CHAMPAIGN   MORAINES 

OIL   WELL   DUG  AT   DANVILLE    WATER-WORKS WELL  DUG   FOR    SAME    PURPOSE 

AT    DANVILLE    JUNCTION ALTITUDE EXTREME    WEATHER    EXPERIENCED. 

Vermilion  County  is  located  on  the  eastern  border  of  Illinois  about  half 
way  between  the  northern  and  southern  boundary  of  the  state.  It  is  rectangu- 
lar in  shape  being  22  miles  in  width,  and  42  miles  in  length,  embracing  880  square 
miles,  or  562,200  acres  of  land.  It  lies  between  the  parallels  of  latitude  40° 
to  41°  north  and  in  longitude  87°  to  88°  west. 

The  most  of  it  lies  within  the  so-called  "Danville  Quadrangle"  which  ex- 
tends but  one  and  one  half  miles  beyond  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county. 
Vermilion  County  is  drained  by  tributaries  of  the  Wabash  river,  which  in  turn 
drain  into  the  Ohio  river,  and  thence  into  the  Mississippi  river.  The  Vermilion 
river  drains  the  entire  territory  of  Vermilion  County,  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  part  in  the  south  and  east  borders.  When  it  is  said  that  the  Vermilion 
river  drains  the  entire  county,  no  account  is  made  of  the  separate  forks,  but  it 
is  assumed  that  the  Vermilion  river  includes  all  the  North  Fork,  the  Middle 
Fork,  and  the  Salt  Fork. 

The  Salt  Fork  of  the  Big  Vermilion  river  runs  through  the  center  of  the 
county,  while  the  Middle  Fork,  which  runs  more  to  the  northwest,  joins  it  and 
forms  the  Big  Vermilion  proper.  The  North  Fork  runs  from  the  north  and 
northeast  and  empties  into  the  main  stream  at  where  Danville  is  located.  The 
Little  Vermilion  flows  easterly  through  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  In  its 
beginning  this  stream  is  little  more  than  a  prairie  drain,  but  as  it  flows  on 
down,  it  grows  of  more  importance.  When  the  early  settlers  first  came  they 
found  from  one  to  three  miles  of  timber  lining  the  bank.  Both  Middle  and 
South  Forks  had  much  timber  along  their  banks  for  a  dozen  miles  above  their 
union  in  the  Big  Vermilion,  but  toward  their  source  there  were  never  more  than 
scattering  groves.  There  are  high  banks  and  bluffs  along  the  streams  after 
they  enter  the  timber,  with  bottoms  wider  where  they  have  cut  through  the 
softer  beds  of  rock,  and  narrower  where  they  have  encountered  the  harder 
sandstone.  The  surface  of  the  county  is  quite  diversified. 

80 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  81 

The  prairies  or  level  surface  of  the  county  is  relieved  by  ridges  which  rise 
above  the  general  level  and  river  valleys  cut  into  the  plain.  Prairies  are  prom- 
inent south  and  west  of  the  Vermilion  river,  and  east  as  far  north  as  Danville 
A  small  area  of  prairie  is  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Batestown  and  Hillery, 
and  to  the  north  and  west  of  there  the  surface  extends  into  a  broad  expanse  of 
prairie. 

'A  low,  broad  ridge  crosses  the  prairie  from  the  northeast  to  the  southwest. 
The  elevation  is  ninety  degrees  above  the  prairie  in  the  vicinity  of  Danville.  As 
seen  from  the  south  this  ridge  is  prominent,  but  from  the  north  it  appears  nearly 
on  prairie  level.  The  valleys,  carved  by  the  Vermilion  river  and  its  forks  cross 
both  prairie  and  ridge.  These  valleys  have  destroyed  valuable  farming  lands 
and  prove  barriers  to  transportation,  but  on  the  other  hand  have  opened  excel- 
lent geological  sections  in  which  are  shown  beds  of  coal  which  makes  this 
region  important  economically.  These  valleys  are  generally  broad,  but  as  ob- 
served above,  sometimes  swell  into  broad  amphitheaters  a  mile  or  more  in 
width  where  they  have  cut  through  the  softer  beds  of  rock.  These  valleys  vary 
in  depth  from  50  ft.  to  100  ft.  with  steep  walls  sometimes  precipitous.  The 
prairies  have  a  black,  dense,  mucky  soil,  of  variable  depth,  underlaid  in  some 
case  by  a  tough  brown-clay  subsoil.  It  is  admirably  adapted  to  cultivation  and 
is  but  little  affected  by  wet  weather,  or  drought.  Good  supplies  of  water  are 
obtained  at  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet.  The  northwest  part  of  the  county  is 
included  in  the  famous  artesian  region  of  Eastern  Illinois,  and  wells  sunk  in  this 
part  of  Vermilion  County  yield  a  never-failing  supply  of  water  at  a  depth  of 
thirty  to  one  hundred  feet. 

Rocks  in  the  soil  seldom  appear  at  the  surface.  They  are  generally  so  deeply 
covered  with  clay  and  sand  that  their  presence  is  not  appreciated.  Only  drilling 
will  reveal  them.  South  of  the  latitude  of  Danville,  rocks  may  be  seen  in  bluffs 
along  streams,  in  almost  perpendicular  cliffs  of  shale  or  shaly  sandstone.  These 
perpendicular  cliffs  often  reveal  coal  beds.  The  entire  rock  series  belong  to  a 
portion  of  the  geologic  column  known  as  Carboniferous  system.  Beneath  the 
coal  bearing  rocks  are  the  heavy  beds  of  limestone.  The  coal  bearing  rocks  oc- 
cupy a  broad,  shallow,  syncline,  the  center  of  which  is  some  distance  southwest 
of  Danville.  The  Rock  formation  have  a  very  gentle  dip  southwesterly  toward 
the  center  of  the  basin. 

The  history  of  this  rock  formation  is  easily  read  in  these  bluffs.  After  the 
carboniferous  rocks  were  deposited  in  some  body  of  water,  the  crust  of  the 
earth  was  raised  in  the  Appalachian  region,  and  this  area  became  dry  land.  In 
this  condition  it  was  subjected  to  the  varying  vicissitudes  of  a  land  surface  for 
many  geological  periods,  but  there  is  little  to  show  the  changes  through  which 
it  passes.  Before  the  advent  of  the  great  ice  sheet  this  section  was  reduced  to  a 
gently  rolling  country  with  a  relief  of  less  than  200  ft.  with  broad  valleys  and 
gentle  slopes,  whose  typography  resembled  that  of  southern  Indiana  beyond 
the  limit  of  glacial  ice.  That  there  was  not  one  ice  advance  but  several  is  proven 
in  the  presence  of  Moraines,  or  massive  ridges  of  drift  built  up  by  the  ice  at  its 
margin.  These  ridges  recur  at  frequent  intervals  as  in  passing  north  from  ex- 
treme edge  of  given  sheets  of  drift,  and  marks  places  of  halting,  and  perhaps 
of  readvance  which  interrupted  the  melting  away  of  the  ice  field. 


82  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  Morainic  ridges  have  in  some  cases  been  formed  in  rapid  succession 
and  constitute  a  Morainic  system.  In  Illinois  there  is  a  decided  tendency  to  such 
grouping  of  Morainic  ridges.  The  sheet  of  drift  formed  by  each  of  the  ice  in- 
vasions, the  soils  and  weathered  zones,  formed  between  the  drift  sheets  and  the 
Moraines,  and  morainic  systems,  of  each  drift  sheet,  have  received  geographic 
names  from  the  locations  where  they  are  well  displayed,  in  conformity  with  the 
prevailing  custom  of  naming  the  indurated  rock  formation.  Vermilion  County 
belongs  to  the  Illinoian  drift  sheet  which  extends,  apparently  to  the  glacial 
boundary  in  western  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  forms  the  eastern 
border  of  the  driftless  area  in  southern  Wisconsin  and  northwestern  Illinois. 
This  area  extends  but  a  few  miles  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  In  this  region 
it  apparently  composes  the  basal  portion  of  the  drift.  Beside  its  geological  lo- 
cation in  the  Illinois  glacial  lobe,  Vermilion  County  is  also  known  as  a  part  of 
the  Champaign  Morianic  system.  This  system  includes  a  series  of  small  drift 
ridges  that  are  ill  defined  the  nearer  they  approach  the  Danville  Quadrangle. 
It  is  doubtful  if  the  oscillations  of  the  ice  front  were  of  great  consequence  in 
this  region.  It  is  believed  that  several  systems  did  not  have  rhythmic  develop- 
ment, the  halts  seem  to  have  been  irregular. 

All  the  rocks  at  the  surface  in  this  region  belong  to  coal  measures.  Ver- 
milion County  is  but  a  very  small  port  of  the  famous  Indiana  and  Illinois  coal 
field  and  it  does  not,  in  its  entirety,  belong  to  this  coal  field.  It  is  but  the  extreme 
northwest  border  of  the  coal  field.  The  coal  production  of  Vermilion  County 
will  receive  due  attention  in  another  chapter  of  this  volume. 

In  about  1886  a  notion  became  popular  that  oil  could  be  found  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Danville,  and  two  attempts  were  made  to  discover  that  source  of  wealth. 
Two  wells  were  sunk,  and  although  no  oil  was  discovered  these  two  occasions 
of  deep  drilling  furnished  information  upon  which  to  base  an  idea  of  the  geologic 
formation  of  this  region.  Records  were  kept,  and  have  been  preserved,  as 
follows : 

The  well  drilled  at  the  Water  Works  records  conditions  as  follows : 

Thickness  of  Depth 

stratum  in  ft.  in  ft. 

1.  Soil    10  10 

2.  Soapstone    285  295 

3.  Coarse   sandstone   10  305 

4.  Soapstone    10  315 

5.  Sandstone    100  415 

6.  Soapstone    15  430 

7.  Gray   sandstone    \ 10  4440 

8.  Blue  sandy   shale 80  520 

9.  Quartz  or  pebble  rock 10  530 

10.  Sandy  shale   145  675 

11.  Hard  gray  limestone 30  705 

12.  Sandstone    30  735 

13.  Blue  clay  shale   30  765 

14.  Pebble  or  flint   rock    30  795 


BRIDGE  ACROSS  THE  VERMILION  RIVER  NEAR  DANVILLE 
HIGHEST  BRIDGE  IN  ILLINOIS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 


63 


15.  Hard  blue  shale 90              885 

16.  Gray   sandstone ... 40              925 

Hard  blue  shale    45              97° 

Light  green  shale  30  1,000 

18.  Black  slate 75  i.°75 

19.  Limestone    74  i,H9 

And  the  well  drilled  at  the  Junction  makes  the  following  record : 

Thickness  of     Depth 
stratum  in  ft.   in  ft. 

1.  Glacial  drift    175              *75 

2.  Hard  slate  and  coal 6              181 

(  Drab  soapstone   20              201 

3'  1  Dark  blue  soapstone 42  '           243 

4.  Coarse  white  sandstone  10              253 

5.  Coal    6              259 

6.  Blue  clay  or  soapstone 75              334 

7.  Hard  flinty  rock   2              336 

8.  Dark  blue  slate 35              371 

|  Brown  soapstone  20              391 

9'  \  Red  clay  1 1              402 

JO.     Soft  white  sandstone  68              470 

11.  Red  clay  20             490 

f  Coarse  brown  sandstone  27              517 

12.  J  Fine  brown  sandstone 40              557 

I  Fine  white  sandstone 30              587 

13.  Dark  blue  clay 73              660 

14.  Hard   pebble   rock    10              670 

15.  Fine  white  clay 36              706 

16.  Hard  pebble  rock   6              712 

(Dark  blue  shale  96              808 

Soft  light  blue  shale  65              873 

Soft  dark  blue  shale 18              891 

18.  Red  shale   62             953 

19.  Light  green  shale   57  1,010 

20.  Hard  gray  limestone   25  I.O35 

21.  Black  slate 90  1,125 

Hard  gray  limestone   51  1,176 

Coarse  soft  limestone 10  1,186 

22. 4  White  and  dark  limestone 160  1,346 

Soft  white  limestone    12  1,358 

Light  and  dark  limestone  342  1,700 

23.  White   limestone   35  1,735 

24.  Clay   shale    no  1,845 

Some  years  ago  the  Illinois  State  Laboratory  of  Natural  History  at  Cham- 
paign, Illinois,  issued  a  bulletin  giving  a  list  of  altitudes  in  the  state.    From  this 


84  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

publication  a  correct  idea  of  almost  every  point  in  Vermilion  County  can  be 
obtained.  This  result  of  a  complete  and  careful  survey  of  Vermilion  County  can 
be  had  as  follows : 

Town  Location  Elevation   above 

by  R.  R.  the  sea  by  ft. 

Allerton,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 710 

Alvin,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 662 

Archie,  C.  &  O.  R.  R.  R 665 

Armstrong,  I.  C.  R.  R 708 

Bismarck,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 667 

Brewer,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 647 

Catlin,  Wabash  R.  R 668 

Chaneyville,  L.  E.  &  W.  R.  R 722 

Comfort,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 692 

Danville,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 597 

Danville  Junction,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 61 1 

Diamond  Mines,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 640 

East  Lynn,  L.  E.  &  W.  R.  R 693 

Fairmount,  Wabash  R.  R 655 

Fishers,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 670 

Fithian,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 663 

Georgetown,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 672 

Grape  Creek,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 538 

Henning,   I.    C.    R.   R 695 

Hillery,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 631 

Hoopeston,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 716 

Humrick,  T.  St.  L.  &  K.  Cy 645 

Indianola,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 674 

Locetts,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 688 

Mission  Mines,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 635 

Muncie,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 642 

Oakwood,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 646 

Potomac,  I.  C.  R.  R 682 

Rankin,   L.   E.   &  W.   R.   R 716 

Rayville,  I.  C.  R.  R 689 

Ridge  Farm,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 685 

Rossville,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 702 

Sandusky,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 721 

Sidell,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 680 

Thomas,  I.  C.  R.  R 702 

Tilton,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 649 

Vermilion  Grove,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L 661 

West  Newell,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 687 

Westville,  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R 669 

Bixby,  at  elevation  of  730,  Blount  at  one  of  75,  Blue  Grass  at  703,  Charity  at 
760,  Glenburn  at  600,  Henrietta  at  690,  Higginsville  at  630,  Hope  at  740.  Mis- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  85 

sion  Fields  at  607,  Pilot  at  730,  Snider  at  680,  and  Vernal  at  670,  were  all  ob- 
served by  I.  J.  Stoddard,  the  other  observations  made  by  him  were  as  follows : 

Sec.  32,  T.  23  N.,  R.  13  W 77° 

Sec.  32,   T.   23   N.,   R.    12   W 750 

Sec.  25,  T.  23  N.,  R.  ii  W 670 

Sec.  33,  T.  18  N.,  R.  13  -W 680 

Sec.  34,  T.  18  N.,  R.  14  W 690 

Sec.  13,  T.  18  N.,  R.  11  W 650 

By  the  above  record  it  is  seen  that  the  highest  point  in  Vermilion  County  is 
at  Sec.  32,  T.  23N.,  R.  I3\V.,  and  the  lowest  is  at  Grape  Creek,  where  it  is  but 
538  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  while  at  Danville  it  is  but  59  feet  higher.  At 
Charity  the  elevation  but  10  feet  lower  than  at  the  highest  point  and  at  Hope  it  is 
not  much  less  since  it  is  740  feet. 

Vermilion  County  is  not  subject  to  extremes  of  weather  as  is  found  in  some 
sections.  There  are  some  instances  on  record,  however,  of  extremes  which  bear 
notice.  One  of  these  is  the  deep  snow  of  the  winter  of  1830-31,  which  gave  this 
season  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  great  severity,  and  occasioned  much  suf- 
fering. This  snow,  however,  did  not  all  fall  at  once  but  was  the  accumulation 
of  many  falling  the  one  on  top  of  the  preceding  one.  These  were  repeated  over 
and  over  again  without  any  melting  of  the  snow  until  the  ground  was  so  com- 
pletely hidden  that  there  was  great  suffering  in  consequence.  The  cattle  could 
not  receive  the  care  needed  and  hundreds  died  in  consequence.  This  was  the 
winter  in  which  the  elder  Partlow  died  and  his  sons  became  so  discouraged  that 
they  went  back  to  Kentucky.  The  deer  were  driven  away  to  seek  food  or  were 
starved  in  such  great  numbers  that  they  were  never  so  plenty  in  this  region. 
Another  extreme  of  weather  is  recorded  in  the  "cold  Tuesday"  of  December  16, 
1836.  Enoch  Kingsbury  wrote  a  letter,  sometime  in  the  fifties,  telling  his  re- 
membrance of  that  day  which  has  been  preserved  and  is  hereby  given  entire. 

"The  weather  on  Monday,  December  16,  1836,  was  quite  warm  and  fast  sof- 
tening the  heavy  snow.  On  Tuesday  it  began  to  rain  before  day  and  continued 
until  four  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  time  the  ground  was  covered  with  water  and 
melting  snow.  All  the  small  streams  were  very  full  and  the  large  ones  rapidly 
rising. 

"At  this  crisis  there  arose  a  large  and  tumultuous  looking  cloud  in  the  west, 
with  a  rumbling  noise.  On  its  approach  everything  congealed.  In  less  than  five 
minutes  it  changed  a  warm  atmosphere  to  one  of  intense  cold,  and  flowing  water 
to  ice.  One  says  that  he  started  his  horse  into  a  gallop  in  the  mud  and  water 
and  on  going  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  he  was  bounding  over  ice  and  frozen  ground. 
Another  says  that  in  an  hour  after  the  change  he  passed  over  a  stream  of  two 
feet  deep  on  ice,  which  actually  froze  solid  to  the  bottom  and  remained  so  until 
Spring.  The  North  Fork  where  it  was  rapid  and  so  full  of  water  as  to  overflow 
its  bottoms,  froze  over  so  solid  that  night  that  horses  crossed  the  next  morning, 
and  it  was  thus  with  all  the  streams. 

"Mr.  Alvin  Gilbert,  with  his  men,  was  crossing  the  prairie  from  Bicknells 
(about  where  Rossville  is  located  now)  to  Sugar  Creek,  with  a  large  drove  of 


86  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

hogs.  Before  the  cloud  came  over  them  the  hogs  and  horses  showed  the  greatest 
alarm  and  an  apprehension  of  danger.  As  it  actually  came  upon  them,  the  hogs 
refusing  to  go  any  further,  began  to  pile  themselves  in  one  vast  heap  as  their  best 
defense  on  the  open  prairie.  During  the  night  half  a  dozen  of  them  perished,  and 
those  on  the  outside  were  so  frozen  they  had  to  be  cut  loose.  About  twelve  others 
died  on  their  way  to  Chicago  in  consequence  of  their  being  badly  frozen,  while 
many  others  lost  large  pieces  of  their  flesh. 

"Mr.  Gilbert  and  his  men  rode  five  or  six  miles  distant,  all  of  them  having 
fingers,  toes  or  ears  frozen,  and  the  harness  so  frozen  that  it  could  not  be  un- 
hitched from  the  wagon,  and  scarcely  from  the  horses. 

"Two  men  riding  across  the  same  prairie  a  little  further  to  the  west,  came 
to  a  stream  so  wide  and  deep  they  could  not  cross  it.  The  dreary  night  came  on, 
and  after  exercising  in  vain,  they  killed  one  horse,  rolled  his  back  to  the  wind, 
took  out  his  entrails,  and  thrust  in  their  hands  and  feet,  while  they  lay  upon  them. 
And  so  they  would  have  used  the  other  horse,  but  for  the  loss  of  their  knife. 
Mr.  Frame,  the  younger  and  more  thinly  clad,  froze  to  death,  before  morning. 
The  other  mounted  the  other  horse  and  rode  over  the  ice  for  five  miles  but  was 
badly  frozen  before  he  reached  a  house. 

"How  general  the  change  was  is  not  known,  but  the  Illinois  river,  as  two 
men  in  a  boat  were  crossing  it,  froze  in  and  they  exercised  to  save  their  lives  until 
the  ice  was  thick  enough  to  bear  them  up.  The  dog  that  was  with  them  froze  to 
death.  Another  evidence  of  unusual  weather  is  recorded  in  about  the  same  year, 
as  the  time  the  trees  were  all  killed  by  unexpected  extreme  cold  in  the  spring. 
The  same  thing  occurred  in  1910,  seventy-five  years  afterward.  It  is,  of  course, 
only  a  ^coincident  that  it  is  at  the  date  of  the  return  of  the  Halley's  comet. 
Another  extreme  of  cold  was  in  the  sixties  at  the  first  of  January. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
EARLY  GROWTH. 

THE  FIRST  COMMISSIONERS'  COURT  AT  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  JAMES  BUTLER — AMOS 

WILLIAMS  APPOINTED  CLERK AT  THE  SECOND  MEETING  THE  COUNTY   WAS 

DIVIDED  INTO  TWO  TOWNSHIPS FIRST  GRAND  JURY WILLIAM  REED  APPOINTED 

ASSESSOR AT  NEXT  SESSION  CERTAIN  PROPERTY  WAS  TAXED COMMISSIONERS 

APPOINTED  TO  LOCATE  COUNTY  SEAT PROVISIONS  OF  THE  ACT  ESTABLISHING 

VERMILION  COUNTY LOCATION  OF  THE  COUNTY  SEAT  AT  THE  SALT  WORKS 

MAJOR  VANCE  REFUSED  TO  GIVE  UP  LEASE NEW  COMMISSIONERS  APPOINTED  TO 

LOCATE  COUNTY  SEAT DENMARK  DESIROUS  OF  ITS  LOCATION  THERE GUY  W. 

SMITH  AND  DAN  BECKWITH  GIVE  LAND  AT  MOUTH  OF  NORTH  FORK  OF  THE  VER- 
MILION RIVER PRESENT  LOCATION  SELECTED — LOTS  SOLD  APRIL  IO,  1827 NAME 

OF  THE  NEW  TOWN FIRST  PUBLIC  BUILDING  THE  STRAY  POUND FIRST  COURT 

HOUSE NEW  COURT  HOUSE  BEGUN  IN   1832 NAVIGATION  OF  THE  BIG  VER- 
MILION RIVER— RAFTS  AND  FLAT-BOATS  CARRIED  PRODUCE  DOWN  THE  VERMILION 

RIVER CONDITION  OF  DANVILLE  AS  LATE  AS  1836 DENMARK NORTHEAST  PART 

OF  THE  COUNTY THE  FERRY  ACROSS  THE  BIG  VERMILION PRODUCE  HAULED  TO 

CHICAGO COMMUNITY  OF  FRIENDS GROWTH  OF  DIFFERENT  SETTLEMENTS. 

The  official  life  of  Vermilion  County  began  at  Butler's  Point,  by  the  holding 
of  the  first  Commissioners'  Court  at  the  residence  of  James  Butler,  March  6, 
1826.  Two  members  of  this  Court,  James  Butler  and  Achilles  Morgan,  were 
present.  The  third  member,  John  B.  Alexander,  was  not  present  until  the  second 
session  of  the  court.  These  Commissioners  had  been  elected  under  the  enabling 
act  of  the  state  legislature  for  the  organization  of  Vermilion  County.  This  Court 
appointed  Amos  Williams,  Clerk,  and  Charles  Martin,  Constable.  John  B.  Alex- 
ander had  just  come  from  living  in  Paris,  in  Edgar  County,  where  Amos  Will- 
iams had  served  the  county  acceptably  as  clerk,  and  it  doubtless  was  his  adapta- 
bility to  the  duties  of  this  office  known  by  Mr.  Alexander  that  he  was  made 
clerk  of  Vermilion  County.  A  man  who  could  write  the  clear  hand  and  make 
the  neat  showing  of  his  books  as  the  records  of  his  term  testify  to  this  day,  was 
unusual,  and  desired  in  public  office.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  court  held  at  the 
same  place  less  than  two  weeks  after,  the  county  was  divided  into  two  town- 
ships. The  portion  south  of  town  18,  was  called  Carroll  township  and  that  north 
of  this  line  was  to  be  called  Ripley  township.  Why  this  division,  is  unknown  and 
cannot  be  ascertained.  Township  organization  itself  originally  was  an  institu- 
tion of  New  England,  and  was  not  adopted  in  Illinois  until  after  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  was  settled  with  people  from  the  east,  and  their  influence  could 

87 


88  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

be  felt.  Maybe  this  division  was  due  to  the  influence  of  James  Butler,  who  was 
lately  a  citizen  of  Vermont. 

A  grand  jury  was  selected  at  this  second  meeting  of  the  Court.  The  names  on 
record  comprising  that  first  Grand  Jury  are  as  follows :  John  Haworth,  Henry 
Canady,  Barnett  Starr,  Robert  Dixon,  Edward  Doyle,  John  Cassidy,  James  Mc- 
Clewer,  Alexander  McDonald,  Henry  Johnson,  Henry  Martin,  Jonathan  Ha- 
worth, William  Haworth,  Jacob  Brazelton,  Peleg  Spencer,  Sr.,  Isaac  M.  Howard, 
Robert  Tricle,  John  Current,  John  Lamm,  Francis  Whitcomb,  Amos  Woodin, 
Jesse  Gilbert,  Cyrus  Douglass,  Harvey  Luddington  and  George  Beckwith.  Will- 
iam Reed  was  appointed  assessor. 

At  the  next  Commissioners'  Court,  June  5,  1826,  an  order  for  the  payment  of 
$1.00  was  granted  in  favor  of  Charles  Martin  for  his  attendance  at  the  March 
term  of  Circuit  Court  as  constable.  This  was  the  first  money  paid  out  by  the 
county.  At  this  session,  certain  property  was  made  subject  to  a  tax  of  one  per 
cent.  This  property  included  "horses,  and  cattle  over  the  age  of  three  years, 
watches,  clocks,  pleasure  carriages  and  stock  in  trade." 

September  4,  1826,  a  new  Commissioners'  Court  was  organized.  The  mem- 
bers newly  elected  were  Achilles  Morgan,  Asa  Elliott  and  James  McClewer.  The 
next  meeting  of  the  Court  was  yet  held  at  the  residence  of  James  Butler.  It 
was  on  December  ir,  1826.  Here  the  record  shows  that  "William  Reed,  this  day 
appeared  in  Court  and  produced  his  tax  book,  by  which  the  levy  of  the  year  1826 
appears  to  be  $205.59  'n  state  paper,  on  which  he  claims  a  deduction  for  delin- 
quents of  $7.03  and  also  7^2  per  cent  for  collecting  ($14.89)  leaving  $183.07, 
which  is  equal  to  $91.83  in  specie." 

On  the  first  Monday  of  June,  1827,  the  Commissioners  met  at  the  house  of 
Asa  Elliott  and  on  the  first  Monday  of  September  following,  the  Court  met  at 
the  county  seat  at  the  home  of  Amos  Williams  in  Danville.  The  second  section 
of  the  act  for  establishing  Vermilion  County,  made  provision  for  the  location 
.of  the  county  seat,  by  appointing  "John  Boyd,  and  Joel  Phelphs,  of  Crawford 
County  and  Samuel  Prevo  of  Clark  County,  as  Commissioners  to  meet  at  the 
house  of  James  Butler  on  the  second  Monday  of  March,  then  next;  and,  after 
taking  oath  for  a  faithful  discharge  of  their  trust,  to  examine  for,  and  deter- 
mine on,  a  place  for  the  permanent  seat  of  justice  of  the  county,  taking  into 
consideration  the  convenience  of  the  people,  the  situation  of  the  settlement, 
with  an  eye  to  the  future  population  and  eligibility  of  the  place."  The  act 
further  required  that  "the  owner  of  the  land  selected  as  the  County  Seat  should 
donate  and  convey  the  same  to  the  county  in  a  quantity  not  less  than  twenty 
acres  in  a  square  form,  and  not  more  than  twice  as  wide,  to  be  laid  off  in  lots 
and  to  be  sold  by  the  County  Commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  public 
buildings.  In  case  of  refusal  of  the  owner  to  donate  the  required  land  the  Com- 
missioners were  required  to  locate  the  County  Seat,  on  the  land  of  some  other 
person  who  would  make  the  donation  contemplated  by  the  act."  A  further  pro- 
vision was  made  that,  in  the  event  the  County  Seat  was  located  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Saline  reservation,  on  the  Big  Vermilion  river,  the  County  Com- 
missioners should,  as  soon  as  practicable,  purchase  of  the  state,  the  quarter  or 
half  section  designated  for  the  use  of  the  county.  The  Saline  Lands  had, 
by  act  of  Congress  become  the  property  of  the  state.  The  same  act  provided 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  89 

also  that  "all  Courts  should  be  held  at  the  house  of  James  Butler  until  public 
buildings  should  be  erected  for  the  purpose,  unless  changed  to  another  place  by 
order  of  the  County  Commissioners." 

These  three  Commissioners  met,  made  a  superficial  examination  of  the 
county  and  sent  in  a  report.  They  had  located  the  County  Seat  some  six  miles 
west  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  and  back  a  distance  from  the 
Salt  Fork.  The  selection  was  a  most  unfortunate  one.  The  surface  of  the 
ground  here  was  cold  and  flat  clay,  which  made  drainage  difficult  if  not  im- 
possible. Wells  could  hardly  be  dug  and  a  city  never  could  have  been  built 
upon  such  a  site.  There  surely  was  little  thought  spent  in  its  selection.  For- 
tunately Major  John  Vance  had  leased  the  Salt  Works  for  a  term  of  years,  and 
refused  to  yield  his  rights.  The  citizens  of  the  entire  territory,  now  Vermilion 
County,  were  dissatisfied,  and  sent  a  remonstrance  to  the  legislature,  coupling 
with  it  a  prayer  for  the  removal  of  the  County  Seat  to  a  more  favorable  location. 
Because  of  this  plea,  the  General  Assembly  of  1826-27  passed  an  act  December 
1827,  which  in  its  preamble  reads:  "Whereas  the  seat  of  justice  of  Vermilion 
County  has  been  located  by  the  Commissioners  appointed  at  the  last  session  on 
land  which  was  then  and  is  now,  leased  by  the  Governor  for  a  term  of  years  to 
certain  persons  for  the  manufacture  of  salt;  and  whereas,  the  said  lessees  are 
unwilling  to  surrender  the  same  or  any  part,  for  the  use  of  the  county,  in  con- 
sequence of  which,  no  improvements  can  be  made  thereon,  and  the  citizen  having 
petitioned  for  its  removal,  and  for  remedy  whereof,  it  was  enacted  that  Will- 
iam Morgan,  Zachariah  Peters,  and  John  Kirkpatrick,  of  Sangamon  County, 
be  declared  Commissioners,  to  explore  the  county  and  designate  the  place,  which, 
on  being  located  should  forever  remain  the  permanent  seat  of  justice  of  Ver- 
milion County." 

Up  to  this  time  no  settlement  had  been  made  on  the  Big  Vermilion  river  at 
the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  village  of  Pianke- 
shaw.  Denmark  was  an  ambitious  town  to  the  north  and  was  desirous  for  the 
County  Seat,  and  would  have  secured  it  could  the  Commissioners  have  agreed. 

This  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork,  had  been  entered  by  certain  people 
among  them  being  Dan  Beckwith,  who  lived  at  the  Salt  Works  and  was  one 
of  the  men  who  claimed  its  discovery.  Guy  Smith  was  another  who  had 
entered  land  at  this  place.  Together  these  two  men  made  an  offer  to  donate  to 
the  Commissioners,  the  required  amount  of  land  and  after  due  deliberation  this 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  location  was  decided  in  the  report  sent  in  by  the 
Commissioners,  dated  January  31,  1827,  that  in  their  opinion,  "the  lands  do- 
nated by  Guy  W.  Smith  and  Dan  W.  Beckwith,  near  the  mouth  of  the  North 
Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river,  was  the  most  suitable  place  in  the  county  for  such 
county  seat."  Guy  Smith's  donation  was  60  acres  and  Dan  Beckwith's  20  acres. 

The  report  of  these  Commissioners  being  accepted,  the  deed  conveying  the 
donated  land  was  executed  by  Guy  W.  Smith  and  Dan  Beckwith,  and  the  board 
of  County  Commissioners  ordered  the  land  surveyed,  and  laid  off  in  town  lots. 
The  survey  was  made  by  Dan  Beckwith,  who  was  the  County  Surveyor,  and  was 
laid  off  in  town  lots.  According  to  instruction,  there  were  one  hundred  lots. 
April  10,  1827,  was  the  day  upon  which  the  lots  were  to  be  offered  for  sale. 
The  sale  had  been  advertised  in  the  Intelligencer,  published  at  Vandalia  and  an 


90  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Indianapolis  paper.  They  were  the  nearest  papers  to  be  found.  The  sale  was  an 
odd  sight.  The  bluffs  along  the  rivers  and  Stony  creek  were  a  mass  of  under- 
brush. There  was  no  sign  of  a  prospective  city,  and  many  amusing  stories  are 
even  yet  told  of  killing  rattle  snakes  on  the  day  of  the  sale. 

The  fact  of  the  appointment  of  Amos  Williams  as  clerk  of  the  court  the 
year  previous  to  this  sale  has  already  been  mentioned.  During  this  year  the 
friendship  between  him  and  Dan  Veckwith  had  grown  and  possibly  been  made 
more  deep  because  they  had  married  sisters.  How  be  it  Amos  Williams  and  Dan 
Beckwith  were  devoted  friends  and  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  they  found 
opportunity  to  help  each  other  when  the  county  seat  was  being  located.  Amos 
Williams  lived  at  Butler's  Point  the  year  after  he  became  the  clerk  of  the  court 
but  they  saw  much  of  each  other  and  together  planned  to  secure  the  location  of 
the  seat  of  justice  where  it  was  placed.  Dan  Beckwith  was  a  man  tall  of  stature 
and  of  commanding  presence  while  his  friend  was  a  small  man  with  a  serious 
view  of  life.  Although  the  one  man  stood  physically  above  the  other  he  was 
very  apt  to  defer  to  his  opinion  and  consider  his  wishes,  acting  on  his  clear  and 
just  decisions.  The  two  men  were  together  the  day  of  the  sale,  as  was  apt  to 
be  the  case  when  opportunity  made  such  companionship  possible.  The  adver- 
tisement in  the  Illinois  Intellegencer  brought  many  to  bid  on  the  lots.  Beside 
this  word  had  been  passed  around  throughout  the  country,  each  man  telling  his 
neighbor,  and  many  present  made  the  bidding  lively.  Harvey  Luddington  acted 
as  auctioneer.  Forty-two  lots  were  sold  for  which  the  county  received  the  sum 
of  $922. 

The  lots  averaged  about  $22  each.  Since  these  lots  were  largely  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  public  square,  it  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  compare  these  prices 
with  the  value  of  the  same  lots  at  the  present  time.  After  the  town  was  surveyed 
the  county  commissioners,  who  at  that  time  were  Achilles  Morgan,  Asa  Elliott 
and  James  McClewer,  with  Amos  Williams  as  clerk,  proceeded  to  discuss  its 
name. 

Amos  Williams  talked  the  matter  over  with  Dan  Beckwith,  so  the  story  runs, 
when  Williamsburg,  Smithville  and  other  names  were  mentioned ;  all  at  once 
Amos  Williams  turned  to  his  stalwart  friend  and,  laying  his  hand  on  the  tall 
man's  shoulder  said,  "Dan,  it  shall  have  your  name.  Why  not?  You  have  done 
all  the  work.  We  will  call  it  Danville."  And  Danville  it  became  and  has  always 
remained  in  honor  of  the  man,  not  so  much  who  had  the  land  to  give  for  its 
location  but  who  had  the  friendship  of  a  man  whose  sentiment  caused  him  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  friend  by  naming  the  new  town  for  him. 

The  public  building  in  the  county  was  the  Stray  Pound.  This  was  erected 
in  December  1827.  It  was  built  40  ft.  square,  of  good  sound  white  oak,  posts 
4  by  8  in.  set  firmly  2^  ft.  in  the  ground.  The  enclosure  was  6l/2  ft.  high, 
made  "in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  out  hogs,  etc."  Phillip  Stanford  erected 
this  enclosure  at  a  cost  of  $99.3^  to  the  county.  Amos  Williams  was  appointed 
keeper  of  the  Stray  Pound. 

The  next  public  building  was  the  jail.  It  was  built  of  heavy  oak  timbers, 
17  by  29  ft.  The  space  of  the  interior  was  divided  into  a  criminal  department 
and  a  debtors'  department.  This  jail  was  located  on  the  block  southeast  of  the 
Public  Square.  Court  met  at  the  house  of  Amos  Williams  until  the  county 


. 

FI?! 


FIRST   STORE    BUILDING    IX    DANVILLE  . 
PALMER  NATIONAL  BANK  BUILT   ON   SITE   OF   FIRST   STORE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  91 

bought  the  log  house  built  by  Reed  which  stood  on  a  lot  now  occupied  by  the 
Woodbury  drug  store  on  the  south  side  of  West  Main  street  near  Vermilion. 
This  building  was  one  story  high,  with  a  space  for  a  low  attic  above,  about  16 
ft.  square,  made  of  heavy  logs,  hewn  inside  and  out.  The  county  bought  this 
with  the  expectation  of  fitting  it  up  for  public  use.  The  plan  was  not  carried 
out,  however.  In  the  latter  part  of  1828,  proposals  were  solicited  for  the  build- 
ing of  a  temporary  court  house,  and  also  proposals  for  the  building  of  a  perma- 
nent court  house.  Hezekiah  Cunningham  bought  the  building  on  the  Main 
street  lot,  together  with  the  lot,  and  agreed  to  provide  the  county  for  the  term 
of  two  years  (unless  the  new  court  house  could  be  built  before  that  time),  with 
a  place  for  holding  court,  in  the  upper  story  of  the  large  frame  building  he  and 
Murphy  had  erected  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Public  Square.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1831,  notice  was  given  that  bids  would  be  received  at  next  term  of  court 
for  a  court  house.  The  new  court  house  was  begun  in  1832.  Gurdon  S.  Hub- 
bard  was  the  contractor. 

The  selection  of  the  site  of  Danville  as  the  county  seat  attracted  settlers  to 
this  place,  but  not  until  its  resources  in  coal  land,  and  the  railroads  were  estab- 
lished were  its  possibilities  as  a  future  city  revealed.  Situated  as  it  was  a  dozen 
miles  from  the  Wabash  river,  there  was  no  water  way  to  connect  it  with  mar- 
kets no  matter  how  much  could  be  raised  to  market.  Attempts  were  made  to 
utilize  the  Big  Vermilion  river  but  to  little  purpose.  An  act  of  Congress  late  in 
the  twenties  declared  this  river  navigable  as  far  as  the  range  line,  one  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  Danville,  but  it  was  impossible  to  prove  this  by  the  river  itself. 
Mr.  John  Coleman  had  built  a  mill  dam  at  Eugene,  Indiana,  and  when  the  Illi- 
nois legislature  determined  upon  improving  the  navigation  of  the  Big  Vermilion, 
the  Court  of  Vermilion  County  made  the  following  order  which  is  recorded  in 
Book  A,  in  the  County  Records  of  1829,  page  80 : 

"Ordered,  that  the  Clerk  of  this  Couft  inform  John  M.  Coleman,  of  Ver- 
milion County,  Indiana,  that  the  obstruction  of  the  navigation  of  the  Big  Ver- 
milion River,  by  his  mill  dam,  across  said  stream  is  much  in  damage,  of  the 
citizens  of  this  county,  and  as  the  legislature  of  the  state  have  appointed  funds 
for  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Big  Vermilion  River,  within  this 
state,  therefore  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to  cause  a  good,  safe  and  conveni- 
ent passage  at  your  mill,  up  and  down  said  stream  within  six  months  of  the  date 
hereof,  otherwise  the  legal  course  of  law  will  be  resorted  to;  and  that  Peleg 
Spencer  be  the  bearer  of  this  notification."  Mr.  Coleman  refusing  to  do  any- 
thing, William  Kidd  and  James  Clyman  were  authorized  to  proceed  against  him 
by  an  indictment  and  prosecution  in  the  courts  of  Indiana.  The  following  year 
they  were  authorized  to  "use  such  measures  as  they  may  think  advantageous  to 
the  county  and  the  citizens  thereof." 

Nothing  was  done,  however,  and  the  year  following  this  the  county  offered 
a  premium  of  $50  to  the  first  captain  who  should  land  a  steamboat  opposite  the 
town  of  Danville.  A  suit  was  instituted  in  the  Indiana  Circuit  Court,  by  agents 
of  the  county  and  the  next  year  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  with  two  other  men  waited 
upon  the  Indiana  legislature  relative  to  the  same  matter.  All  that  ever  was 
accomplished,  however,  was  a  decree  to  the  effect  that  Coleman  should  make  a 


92  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

lock  for  the  passage  of  flat  boats  and  barges  through  his  dam.  Not  being  par- 
ticularly inclined  to  accommodate  those  who  had  given  him  so  much  trouble, 
he  merely  filled  the  conditions  of  the  decision  by  making  a  lock  of  his  flood 
gate,  which  was  quite  a  narrow  passage  and  ran  under  his  mill. 

For  several  years  rafts  and  flat  boats  were  passed  down  the  river  from  Dan- 
ville to  the  Wabash,  passing  the  narrow  boats  through  the  lock  in  the  dam,  when 
the  water  was  too  low  to  pass  over  the  dam  in  safety.  These  boats  were  built 
about  60  ft.  long.  They  were  manned  by  a  steersman  and  two  oarsmen.  They 
were  loaded  with  produce  and  taken  to  New  Orleans,  and  sold,  boat,  cargo  and 
all  for  what  they  might  bring.  The  cargo  consisted  of  flour,  corn,  pork  and  live 
hogs  and  poultry,  hoop-poles,  baled  hay  and,  in  short,  any  thing  salable.  The 
hogs  and  poultry  were  not  fully  fattened  when  put  on  board,  but  became  so  on 
the  trip,  which  lasted  about  six  weeks.  This  time  included  numerous  stoppings 
at  points  along  the  Mississippi  river,  for  trading  with  merchants  and  planters. 
When  the  boats  and  cargo  were  sold  for  what  they  would  bring,  the  men  re- 
turned, some  on  foot,  some  having  bought  mules  or  horses,  but  all  taking  care 
in  choosing  their  route.  Great  precaution  had  to  be  taken  lest  the  traveler  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  banditti  which  infested  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  to  the 
end  of  avoiding  trouble,  every  one  kept  well  back  from  their  haunts.  Many 
men  who  lived  in  Vermilion  County  and  the  adjoining  counties  in  Indiana,  have 
proudly  told  of  their  experiences  on  trips  to  New  Orleans  and  return.  The  last 
boat  that  passed  out  from  Danville  was  in  1852  and  was  sent  out  by  Colonel  Gil- 
bert. In  this  way  a  market  was  made  for  produce  that  was  to  be  sold  here. 
That  which  was  to  be  brought  in  must  come  from  the  east  and  had  to  be  car- 
ried by  way  of  the  Ohio  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  river,  thence  up 
stream  to  Perry sville  or  perhaps  Covington,  Indiana,  and  be  hauled  from  the 
river  to  Danville.  The  navigation  of  the  Vermilion  river  was  never  satisfac- 
tory other  than  on  paper.  In  1836,  two  Chicago  men,  Amando  D.  Higgins  and 
Marcus  C.  Stearns,  began  a  speculation  in  Vermilion  County,  based  upon  the 
navigation  of  the  Vermilion  river.  They  entered  some  land  and  bought  other 
at  a  nominal  price  and  proceeded  to  lay  it  out  in  town  lots,  recording  it  as  "Ver- 
milion Rapids." 

This  plat  was  made  to  show  both  sides  of  the  river  and  the  stream  appeared 
to  be  about  ten  rods  wide  at  this  point.  To  know  the  exact  location  of  this  town, 
it  is  needed  to  understand  that  it  is  now  known  as  Higginsville,  in  Blount  town- 
ship. The  "rapids"  were  the  main  feature  of  this  speculation  since  much  matter 
could  be  made  of  the  fact  that  no  boat  could  pass  beyond  them.  The  impres- 
sion was  given  that  the  Vermilion  river  was  a  water-way  of  importance  and  was 
navigable  to  this  point,  but  beyond  this  the  "rapids"  kept  boats  from  going. 
That  this  town  would  be  at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  Vermilion  river,  that 
along  the  river  front  of  this  town,  boats  could  take  on  the  produce  of  the  rich 
farming  lands  for  miles  around,  and  to  this  town  the  merchandise  of  foreign 
lands  would  be  brought.  The  promise  of  direct  communication  with  New  Or- 
leans, Cuba  and  all  the  ports  of  Europe,  seemed  reasonable  when  this  prospec- 
tive city  was  viewed  from  paper.  The  rapids,  unless  removed  by  government 
authority  and  appropriation,  would  always  remain  a  barrier  to  extending  navi- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  93 

gation  further  up  stream.    "Vermilion,  Rapids"  promised  to  be  the  head  of  navi- 
gation for  all  time. 

This  might  have  netted  the  speculators  much  money  had  the  plat  been  put 
upon  the  market  sooner,  just  as  many  no  more  to  be  commended  speculations 
did.  The  platting  of  this  town  was  done  just  before  the  financial  crash  of  1837, 
and  by  the  time  Mr.  Higgins  reached  New  York,  the  land  was  utterly  value- 
less. The  account  of  this  speculation  only  finds  a  place  in  this  chapter  on  ac- 
count of  the  stress  put  upon  the  navigation  of  the  Vermilion  river  years  after 
it  could  be  depended  upon  even  in  places  where  there  was  some  water.  It  is  not 
an  instance  of  early  growth. 

A  number  of  buildings  were  put  up  within  the  county  seat  in  the  years  im- 
mediately folowing  its  location.  These  were  at  best  but  primitive  log  cabins. 
The  location  of  Danville  admitted  of  no  other  source  of  livelihood  than  trade 
with  the  Indians.  Gurdon  Hubbard  had  the  principal  trade,  while  Dan  Beckwith 
and  James  Clymer  carried  on  a  more  limited  barter  of  this  kind.  A  small  space 
around  what  was  made  the  Public  Square  was  cleared  of  hazel  brush,  and  rat- 
tlesnakes, but  outside  of  this,  the  dense  brush  covered  the  entire  territory  up  to 
the  timber  along  the  Big  Vermilion  river  on  the  south,  the  North  Fork  on  the 
west,  and  Stony  creek  on  the  east.  So  destitute  of  means  to  get  a  living  in  the 
immediate  surroundings  were  the  people  in  this  town  which  was  made  the 
county  seat  before  it  had  even  come  into  existence,  they  were  drawn  away  from 
home  to  find  work  elsewhere;  cutting  hazel  brush  and  killing  rattlesnakes  were 
neither  lucrative  employments.  Henry  Harbaugh  is  one  of  the  oldest  men  in 
Vermilion  County,  claiming  to  have  been  born  in  1804.  He  came  to  Danville 
first  in  1836  and  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  place  at  that  time.  He  is  yet,  in 
both  body  and  mind,  well  preserved  and  recalls  affairs  of  the  county  at  that 
time,  clearly  and  accurately.  He  tells  how  he  left  Cincinnati  by  the  steamboat 
"Utah,  which  was  bound  for  Perrysville,  Indiana."  He  came  down  the  Ohio 
river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  river,  and  thence  up  that  river  to  Perrysville. 
Here  leaving  the  boat,  he  walked  across  to  Danville,  Illinois.  The  impression 
made  upon  him  by  Vermilion  County's  seat  of  justice  is  well  given  in  his  own 
words : — "Well,  Danville  was  a  poor  town.  It  was  the  miserablest  town  I  ever 
did  see.  I  did  not  want  to  stay  here.  Why  nobody  wanted  to  stay  here.  There 
was  nothing  but  hazel  brush.  Many  of  the  cabins  which  had  been  built  were 
abandoned,  while  those  who  owned  them  had  gone  to  the  edge  of  the  timber 
to  herd  their  stock  and  raise  something  to  eat.  Danville  was  most  all  hazel 
brush  and  deserted  log  cabins." 

Mr.  Harbaugh  goes  on  to  tell  his  eagerness  to  leave  Danville  to  the  extent 
that  he  continued  his  walk  two  miles  along  the  North  Fork  to  Denmark,  a 
town  up  that  stream  which  ten  years  before  this  time  had  been  a  competitor  of 
Danville  in  determining  the  location  of  the  county  seat.  It  was  a  promising 
town  at  the  time  of  the  fight  for  the  honor,  but  had  not  grown  much  during  the 
interim,  and  now  was  found  to  be  the  resort  of  rowdies.  The  public  house 
which  yet  carried  the  sign  of  good  food  was  nothing  but  a  bar,  and  its  patronage 
was  a  set  of  rowdies.  Mr.  Harbaugh's  experience  at  this  place  was  such  that 


94  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

he  found  that  flight  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  and  he  hastily  took  himself  on 
toward  the  prospective  town  of  "Vermilion  Rapids,"  afterward  the  better  known 
town  of  Higginsville. 

At  that  time  the  town  was  only  in  prospect  built,  as  it  proposed  to  be  on  a 
great  scale,  but  its  fame  had  spread  abroad  and  here  Mr.  Harbaugh  located  and 
spent  his  life. 

Denmark  had  its  beginning  as  a  town  in  about  1823  or  4,  when  Seymour 
Treat  built  a  mill  at  that  place.  The  exact  time  of  building  this  mill  is  not 
known,  but  record  is  made  that  in  1826,  the  mill  had  been  running  for  several 
years.  This  was  a  saw-mill  and  a  corn-cracker  combined.  Treat  was  also  a 
blacksmith  at  Denmark.  The  prosperity  of  Denmark  did  not  outlast  the  first 
decade  of  life  in  Vermilion  County. 

It  was  in  1828  that  the  first  settlement  was  made  in  the  northwest  part  of 
the  county.  This  settlement  was  made  by  Mr.  Partlow,  with  his  son-in-law, 
Asa  Brown,  who  came  from  Kentucky.  There  were  four  sons,  all  of  whom 
were  married,  who  came  with  their  father.  These  sons  were  Samuel,  James, 
Reuben  and  John.  They  built  a  cabin  at  what  was  afterward  known  as  Merrills 
Point  and  the  sons  took  up  land  to  the  south  at  where  Armstrong  was  located. 
John  and  James  were  licensed  preachers.  They  brought  a  number  of  cattle 
with  them  and  every  thing  looked  promising  when  the  second  year  was  a  most 
severe  winter.  This  was  the  winter  of  the  deep  snow  when  one  snow  was  not 
melted  until  another  came,  until  the  amount  on  the  ground  was  a  matter  of 
record. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Partlow,  the  father  and  mother,  both  died  and  the  others  be- 
came discouraged.  The  snow  was  so  deep  that  the  cattle  died  from  lack  of  food 
and  care,  there  was  no  way  to  reach  a  market,  and  the  sons  all  went  back  to 
Kentucky  as  soon  as  the  weather  permitted.  'Asa  Brown,  the  son-in-law,  alone 
remained  in  this  first  settlement.  They  returned  later,  however. 

In  1827,  the  Juvinalls  and  Morgan  Rees  settled  just  south  of  the  Partlows 
and  with  others  coming,  partly,  at  least,  settled  this  part  of  the  country.  Among 
these  new  comers  were  the  McGees  and  Stephen  Griffith.  Samuel  Bloomfield, 
who  had  come  into  the  county  in  1823,  and  settled  at  Quakers  Point,  moved  to 
this  neighborhood  on  the  Middle  Fork,  in  1829.  He  had  entered  a  farm  in  this 
more  newly  settled  part  of  the  county  and  left  the  older  farm  to  improve  the 
new  one.  In  1828,  Absolom  Collison  came  into  this  neighborhood.  He  was  a 
friend  of  the  Juvinalls,  coming  from  their  old  home  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Chenowet 
came  into  this  neighborhood  the  same  year  and  the  following  one,  his  daughter 
Mary  became  Absolom  Collison's  wife.  The  Atwoods  came  to  a  point  further 
down  the  river,  in  1829.  Although  no  permanent  settlement  was  made  nor  any 
town  established,  these  families  coming  into  the  northeast  part  of  the  county 
gave  impetus  to  its  growth. 

Samuel  Copeland  came  to  the  Middle  Fork  in  1828,  and  settled  further  to 
the  south  than  did  the  Atwoods  when  they  came  the  following  year.  When  he 
came  he  found  Ware  Long  living  to  the  east  of  him  in  the  timber.  Soon  Amos 
Howard,  Mr.  Shoky  and  Mr.  Priest  came  and  settled  to  the  south  of  Copeland, 
forming  what  was  long  called  the  Howard  neighborhood.  John  Johns  settled 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  95 

about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  northeast  of  Copelands.  Later  Copeland's  son 
married  John  Johns'  oldest  daughter.  In  1828,  Daniel  Fairchild  and  his  five 
sons,  Timothy,  Zenas,  Orman,  Lyman  and  Daniel,  together  with  his  married 
daughter,  Mrs.  Elevens,  came  to  the  Middle  Fork  and  located  two  miles  north- 
west of  Samuel  Copeland.  The  father  was  very  old,  nearly  blind,  and  lived  but 
a  short  time  after  moving  into  this  neighborhood.  The  sons  and  daughter, 
however,  were  all*  married  with  young  families,  and  they  took  their  place  mak- 
ing a  lasting  impress  on  the  community.  The  waning  interest  in  the  produc- 
tion of  salt  was  the  reason  that  newcomers  were  not  attracted  to  the  region  of 
the  salt  works,  which  had  been  the  source  of  employment  to  a  large  number  in 
the  early  twenties.  Mr.  Lander  and  Mr.  Shearer  were  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  later  well-known  J.  R.  Thompson  farm,  some  time  previous  to  the  coming 
of  William  Smith,  in  1830.  A  Mr.  Progue  settled  about  this  time  further  to  the 
west,  near  the  county  line.  Mr.  Brewer  lived  further  down  the  creek  and  close 
to  what  was  later  Conkey  town,  Stephen  Crane  had  settled.  About  the  year  1827, 
Jesse  Ventres  and  James  Howell  came  from  Kentucky  into  the  neighborhood 
which  was  afterward  Newtown.  Mr.  Ventres  bought  a  piece  of  land  half  a 
mile  southeast  of  Newtown  from  Mr.  Indicut,  who  is  supposed  to  have  come  to 
this  locality  at  perhaps  a  time  not  far  distant  from  the  discovery  of  the  salt 
springs.  The  year  after  Jesse  Vantres  came,  John  Cox  from  Big  Sandy  made 
him  a  visit.  He  left  his  son  with  Mr.  Ventres. 

A  ferry  was  established  across  the  Big  Vermilion,  in  1828,  the  court  granted 
license  for  the  same  and  fixed  the  following  lawful  rates : — "For  crossing  man 
and  horse,  12^/2  cents;  wagon  and  horse,  i8j4  cents;  wagon  and  two  horses  or 
oxen,  25  cents.  Persons  going  to  mill,  one-half  rate."  Solomon  Gilbert  built  the 
mill  this  same  year.  He  built  the  log  tavern  in  1827. 

John  Payne  came  from  Indiana  to  Butler's  Point,  in  1827.  His  son-in-law, 
John  Thompson,  came  with  him  and  settled  one  mile  northeast  of  Catlin. 
Charles  Caraway  came  from  Virginia  in  1824.  Noah  Guyman,  with  his  wife, 
who  became  the  best  known  and  best  loved  woman  in  this  section  of  the  country, 
for  years,  came  on  foot  from  Ohio,  in  1830. 

James  Stevens  came  to  Brooks'  Point,  in  1826.  Isaac  Gone  had  come  a  year 
previous  to  this  time.  John  L.  Sconce  came  from  Kentucky,  in  1828.  John  Cage 
and  James  Graves  with  his  two  sons,  O.  S.  and  L.  H.  came  about  this  time. 
Daniel  Darby  set  up  a  wagon  shop  near  here  about  this  time.  The  post  office 
was  established  in  Georgetown,  in  1828.  The  mail  route  ran  from  here  by 
way  of  Carroll,  an  office  in  the  McDonald  neighborhood,  to  Paris. 

William  Swank  took  up  his  residence  in  Vermilion  County  in  1823.  He  came 
from  Putnam  County,  Ohio.  His  farm  occupied  the  present  site  of  Indianola. 
Aaron  Mendenhall  came  from  Greene  County,  Ohio,  to  Vermilion  County,  Illi- 
nois, in  1824.  He  brought  his  fifteen  year  old  son  John  with  him.  The  Com- 
munity of  Friends  which  settled  early  about  Vermilion,  was  strengthened  and 
increased  in  numbers  in  the  years  immediately  following  the  establishing  of 
Vermilion  County,  by  others  of  this  faith  coming  from  North  Carolina  and 
Tennessee.  Their  life  was  calculated  to  form  a  high  standard  of  living  and 
their  influence  was  long  a  strong  factor  in  the  development  of  Vermilion  County. 


96  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Dr.  Thomas  Madden  and  Dr.  Thomas  Heyward  were  practicing  physicians  in 
this  county  prior  to  1828.  J.  B.  Alexander,  together  with  his  son-in-laws,  Alex- 
ander McDonald  and  I.  R.  Moores,  entered  land  which  afterward  was  known 
as  the  McDonald  neighborhood,  in  1822.  Mr.  Alexander,  himself,  did  not  make 
this  section,  which  was  then  Edgar  County,  his  home,  until  after  it  became  Ver- 
milion County.  He  was  very  prominent  in  the  early  affairs  of  the  new  county. 
The  settlement  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  was  strengthened  in  1824  by 
the  coming  of  Abel  Williams.  He  was  a  most  remarkable  man  and  one  who 
would  be  a  help  to  any  neighborhood.  He  came  from  Tennessee.  The  same 
year  brought  Robert  Dickson  from  Kentucky  with  his  four  sons.  Silas  Waters 
and  George  Barnett  came  from  Kentucky  the  same  year.  Thye  Makem- 
son  and  family  first  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  the  fall  of  1828  and  located 
one  and  a  half  miles  north  of  what  is  now  Oakwood.  The  family  consisted  of 
Thos.  Makemson,  a  revolutionary  soldier,  and  his  five  sons,  Andrew,  David, 
Samuel,  John  and  James.  They  lived  together  until  after  the  death  of  the 
father,  when  they  were  scattered.  William  Craig  became  a  resident  of  this 
neighborhood  in  1829.  The  first  attempt  at  settlement  on  the  North  Fork  was 
made  in  1824.  In  the  fall  of  1823,  Obediah  LeNeve  came  through  this  part  of 
Edgar  County  on  a  trip  he  was  making  on  horseback  to  select  a  location  of  a 
home.,  The  land  in  the  region  now  known  as  Newell  township,  took  his  fancy 
and  before  he  returned  to  his  home  he  took  the  number  of  the  tracts  he  desired 
with  an  idea  of  buying  them.  At  a  public  sale  soon  afterward  he  bought  them 
and  before  Christmas  of  that  year  he  and  his  brother,  John  LeNeve,  came  over- 
land from  Vincennes  to  this  new  home.  Reaching  here  in  safety,  they  found  the 
Indians  friendly  and  soon  had  a  cabin  built  on  the  land.  Soon  Ben  Butterfield 
came  and  occupied  the  cabin  until  the  following  fall.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  this  was  the  year  before  Danville  was  contemplated.  This  location  became  a 
popular  one  and  a  large  number  of  people  came,  mostly  from  Kentucky  and 
Virginia. 

Joseph  Gundy  began  improvement  in  what  was  afterward  Myersville,  in 
1827,  but  did  not  fetch  his  family  until  the  following  year.  Luke  Wiles  settled 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  the  same  year.  He  came  from  Indiana.  John 
Woods,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  came  to  this  part  of  Vermilion  county  as 
early  as  1828.  His  father-in-law,  Supply  Butterfield,  came  about  this  time. 

The  first  settler  in  the .  western  part  of  the  county  south  of  the  salt  works 
was  Thomas  Osborn,  who,  in  1825,  built  himself  a  little  cabin  a  mile  or  two 
northwest  of  what  is  now  Fairmount.  There  he  fished  and  hunted  until  the 
game  began  to  grow  scarce  when  he  moved  further  west.  A  year  or  two  later, 
James  Elliott,  James  French  and  Samuel  Beaver  came  to  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. Beaver  was  a  tanner  and  owned  and  worked  a  small  tanyard  for  some 
time. 

Henry  Hunter  took  up  a  claim  in  1828,  just  north  of  what  is  now  Fair- 
mount,  but  sold  it  in  1833  to  Jennings.  Mr.  Stewart  took  up  land  nearby  in 
the  same  year  but  died  in  1833.  He  was  buried  in  the  Dougherty  burying 
ground,  his  being  the  second  grave.  Thomas  Redman  and  Joseph  Yount  came  to 
this  neighborhood  in  1828,  from  Ohio.  The  next  year  John  Smith  opened  a 
farm  near  by.  W.  H.  Lee  settled  a  little  further  to  the  east  in  1829,  and  Wil- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  97 

Ham  Hardin  settled  here  at  the  same  time.  These  people  are  all  supposed  to 
have  come  from  Ohio.  In  taking  a  survey  of  the  growth  of  Vermilion  County 
in  the  decade  immediately  following  the  first  settlement  within  its  borders,  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  these  years  included  but  three  years  of  its  official  life 
as  a  county  separate  from  Edgar.  So  it  is  that  a  survey  of  conditions  in  the 
last  days  of  the  twenties,  while  the  section  has  been  attracting  settlement  for 
ten  years,  yet  the  county  has  counted  its  existence  but  since  1826. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
SOME  OF  THE  MAKERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

SEYMOUR   TREAT DAN    BECKWITH FRANCIS    WHITCOMB l82O HENRY   JOHN- 
SON  JAMES  D.  BUTLER HENRY  JOHNSON — l82I ABSOLOM  STARR JOTHAM 

LYONS JOHN  JORDON WILLIAM  SWANK JOHN  MYERS HENRY  CANADAY 

BENJAMIN   BROOKS THOMAS  O'NEAL — JOHN   HAWORTH ACHILLES   MORGAN 

HENRY    MARTIN 1&22 ROBERT   COTTON STEVEN    DUKES ASA    ELLIOTT 

JOHN  MILLS ALEXANDER  MCDONALD — I.  R.  MOORES 1823 JOHN  LE  NEVE 

WILLIAM  M'DOWELL — 1824 — AARON  MENDENHALL — CYRUS  DOUGLASS — ROBERT 

DICKSON JOHN   SNIDER — DR.    ASA   PALMER HEZEKIAH    CUNNINGHAM ELI 

HENDERSON 1825 AMOS  WILLIAMS LEVI  B.  BABB 1826 WILLIAM  WATSON 

MICHAEL  WEAVER ABEL  WILLIAMS SAMUEL  GILBERT  AND  SONS SAMUEL 

BAUM JOHN  LARRANCE WILLIAM  CURRENT ANDREW  PATTERSON — SAM- 
UEL COPELAND LARKIN  COOK ANDREW  JUVINALL SAMUEL  SCONE WIL- 
LIAM JONES WILLIAM  WRIGHT JAMES  GRAVES JAMES  BARNETT JOHN 

CHANDLER ABSOLOM    COLLISON JOSEPH    SMITH SAMUEL   CAMPBELL OTHO 

ALLISON JAMES      DONOVAN WILLIAM      BANDY JAMES      SMITH WILLIAM 

BLAKENEY CHARLES  S.  YOUNG CHARLES  CARAWAY LATHAM  FOLGER WIL- 
LIAM CUNNINGHAM — WILLIAM  CURRENT — JAMES  ELLIOTT — JOHN  D.  G.  CLINE 
JOHN  JOHNS JOHN  COX EPHRIM  ACREE — ADAM  PATE. 

SEYMOUR  TREAT. 

It  seems  impossible  to  learn  much  of  Seymour  Treat's  life.  The  first  thing 
known  of  him  is  that  he  lived  at  Fort  Harrison,  in  1819.  When  Blackman  re- 
turned from  his  trial  to  the  Vermilion  Salt  Springs,  in  company  with  Barron, 
and  formed  another  company  to  return  and  claim  the  discovery  of  them,  there- 
by betraying  the  trust  of  Barron,  Seymour  Treat  was  one  of  the  men  who  re- 
turned with  him. 

No  record  was  kept  throwing  any  light  on  the  reason  for  selecting  this 
party  so  that  little  idea  of  the  character  of  these  men  can  be  had,  at  least  as  to 
whether  they  knew  of  the  previous  discovery  by  John  Barron.  The  only  real 
knowledge  that  is  to  be  obtained  now  is  of  his  residence  at  Fort  Harrison. 

Seymour  Treat  came  to  the  Salt  Springs,  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  old 
Kickapoo  town,  the  latter  part  of  November,  1881.  He  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, made  the  trip  up  the  Wabash  and  Vermilion  rivers  in  a  pirogue,  bringing 
tools  and  what  goods  they  could  not  do  without,  and  provisions  to  last  them 

98 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  99 

during  the  winter.  One  at  the  present  day  can  hardly  imagine  the  privations 
they  endured.  A  hastily  built  cabin  kept  them  from  the  cold,  but  that  was  all. 
The  men  of  this  first  settlement  included  the  two  Beckwith  brothers,  Peter 
Allen,  and  Francis  Whitcomb.  They  could  hunt  and  find  pleasure  in  the  free 
life  of.  the  wilderness,  but  wife  and  small  children  having  none  of  these  diver- 
sions found  much  to  regret  in  the  change  from  life  at  Fort  Harrison.  Their 
nearest  neighbors  were  at  the  North  Arm  prairie,  fully  forty  miles  away.  The 
old  Indian  town  miles  below  their  cabin  was  deserted  and  weeds  grew  in  the 
fields  where  the  squaws  had  planted  the  corn,  and  hoed  the  squashes.  The  loneli- 
ness of  the  life,  and  the  effect  of  the  absence  of  the  comforts  they  had  before 
enjoyed,  is  voiced  in  the  words  of  Treat  to  the  governor  a  year  later: — "My  fam- 
ily remained  on  the  ground  ever  since  their  arrival,  except  one  who  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  the  suffering  and  privations  which  they  have  had  to  endure  in  a  situation 
so  remote  from  a  settled  country  without  the  means  of  procuring  the  ordinary 
comforts  of  life."  This  letter  was  written  because  of  the  fact  that  the  treachery 
of  Blacktnan  had  left  even  his  followers  without  valid  claim  to  the  salt  springs. 
After  the  different  claims  to  the  salt  springs  were  settled,  Treat,  with  Dan 
Beckwith,  went  to  Denmark.  Here  Treat  built  a  mill  which  he  operated  for 
some  time.  Seymour  Treat  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  time  while  this  ter- 
ritory was  a  part  of  the  unorganized  territory  attached  to  Edgar  County  and 
while  in  this  office  he  married  Cyrus  Douglas  and  also  Marquis  Snow.  He  later 
came  to  Danville  where  it  is  presumed  he  died  and  was  probably  buried  in  the 
Williams  burying  ground. 

DAN   BECKWITH. 

Dan  Beckwith  deserves  the  record  as  among  the  first  settlers  of  Vermilion 
County  since  his  coming  antedates  the  organization  of  the  county  itself.  Dan 
Beckwith  was  a  native  of  Bedford  County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  there 
in  1795.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of  six  brothers  and  two  sisters,  who  went  with 
their  parents  into  New  York  state,  while  Dan  was  but  a  lad.  Three  of  these 
brothers  came  west  and  were  residents  of  Vermilion  County  at  one  time. 

George  Beckwith  and  Dan  Beckwith  left  New  York  state  together,  and  came 
to  Fort  Harrison  in  the  summer  of  1816,  the  year  Dan  was  twenty-one  years  old. 
Two  years  later  they  went  on  to  the  North  Arm  Prairie,  and  lived  with  Jonathan 
Mayo's  family.  Here  they  made  their  home  until  1819,  when  they  went  to  the 
Vermilion  Salines. 

Dan  Beckwith  was  a  man  of  pleasing  appearance.  He  was  tall — full  six 
feet,  two  inches.  He  had  broad  square  shoulders;  was  straight,  muscular  and 
spare  of  flesh,  weighing,  when  in  health,  about  190  pounds.  He  was  an  expert 
axe-man  and  a  shrewd  Indian  trader.  Within  two  years  after  he  came  to  the 
Vermilion  he  was  to  be  found  with  an  armful  of  goods  such  as  the  red  man 
would  fancy,  in  a  place  partly  excavated  in  the  side  of  a  hill  at  Denmark,  trading 
for  furs  with  the  Indian. 

Later,  through  his  efforts  mainly,  Danville  had  been  selected  as  the  County 
Seat,  he  built  a  cabin  on  the  brow  of  the  bluff,  near  the  end  of  west  Main  street, 
and  continued  his  trading.  This  cabin  was  not  far  from  the  present-day  Gil- 


100  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

bert  street  bridge.  Later  he  had  a  cabin  further  west  on  Main  street  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  James  Qymer  and  together  they  traded  to  their  profit. 

When  the  chosen  site  of  the  County  Seat  of  the  newly  organized  Vermilion 
County  at  the  Saltworks  was  found  to  be  impossible  on  account  of  the  lease  to 
Major  Vance,  and  Denmark  the  already  settled  town  had  nearly  secured  the 
prize,  Dan  Beckwith,  together  with  Guy  Smith  offered  land  at  the  present  site 
and  determined  its  location. 

Dan  Beckwith  died  while  yet  a  young  man.  He  did  not  live  beyond  the 
days  of  pioneer  Vermilion  County.  His  death  occurred  at  Danville,  Decem- 
ber, 1835.  He  was  buried  in  the  old  Williams  burying  ground.  The  city  bought 
the  privilege  of  opening  a  street  through  this  cemetery  of  the  heirs  of  Amos 
Williams  and  Dan  Beckwith's  remains  were  moved  to  Springhill. 

Both  the  children  of  Dan  Beckwith  are  now  dead.  Hiram  Beckwith  was 
the  father  of  two  sons.  His  oldest  son  married  Linne  Williams,  the  daughter 
of  Smith  Williams,  and  granddaughter  of  Amos  Williams.  They  were  the 
parents  of  two  children,  Grace  and  Dan.  Hiram's  younger  son,  Clarence,  mar- 
ried Grace  Dickman  and  is  the  father  of  one  son,  Hiram  William.  Mrs.  Lemon 
was  the  mother  of  two  daughters,  May  Lemon  and  Laura  Lemon  Bird,  whose 
first  husband's  name  was  Mott. 


FRANCIS    WHITCOMB. 


Francis  Whitcomb,  the  third  of  the  first  settlers  of  Vermilion  County,  who 
made  any  impress  upon  its  affairs,  was  identified  with  two  sections — the  salt- 
works and  Butler's  Point.  He  came  to  the  salt  springs  with  the  Blackman  com- 
pany and  was  one  of  the  three  with  whom  Blackman  made  the  agreement  to 
make  partners  in  the  profits  of  the  saltworks.  That  he  did  not  stand  by  his  word 
has  already  been  recorded.  While  the  matter  was  being  adjusted  Francis 
Whitcomb  continued  working  at  the  saltworks.  It  is  during  his  stay  here  that  a 
story  is  told  of  him  which  shows  a  kind  heart  and  refined  nature  that  expressed 
itself  in  unusual  degree.  It  was  after  Seymour  Treat  had  gone  to  Denmark, 
and  there  were  no  women  at  the  saltworks,  other  than  Baily's  wife.  This  family 
of  Baily's  consisted  of  himself,  his  wife  and  two  or  three  small  children.  Baily 
sold  out  to  Mr.  Luddington,  and  left  his  family,  to  go  to  the  "Illinois  River 
Country."  Soon  the  children  became  ill  and  Mrs.  Baily  herself  was  taken  ill. 
The  men  working  at  the  saltworks  were  all  unmarried.  There  was  no  one 
to  give  the  women  and  children  the  needed  care. 

Francis  Whitcomb  took  as  good  care  of  them  as  a  woman  could.  He  pro- 
vided their  food  as  well  as  possible  where  there  was  nothing  to  be  had  fit  for 
ill  people  to  eat.  He  did  their  washing,  attended  their  wants,  and  rendered 
all  assistance  possible  under  the  circumstances,  with  no  doctors,  and  no  drug 
stores  near  where  aid  or  medicine  could  be  procured.  In  spite  of  the  care  this 
young  man  could  give  the  children,  one  by  one  wasted  away,  and  died.  No 
lumber  or  plank  was  to  be  had  with  which  to  make  their  coffins,  but  the  men  split 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  101 

rough  boards  from  a  walnut  tree  that  grew  a  short  distance  from  Butler's 
branch,  and  made  rude  caskets.  These  strong  men  inured  to  hardships,  silently 
and  with  sad  faces  buried  the  children,  with  no  minister  to  say  a  prayer  nor 
relatives  to  mourn  as  the  graves  were  filled. 

Francis  Whitcomb  went  to  Butler's  Point  from  the  saltworks,  and  took  up 
the  farm  afterwards  known  as  the  one  Richard  Jones  lived  on.  The  house  he 
built  is  yet  standing.  He  lived  here  a  number  of  years  and  sold  the  farm  to 
Henry  Jones  himself  going  to  McLean  County,  where  he  died  and  was  buried. 

Francis  Whitcomb  was  the  father  of  six  children.  His  wife's  maiden  name 
was  Jane  Irwin.  His  children's  names  were  Ira,  Francis,  John,  Jeremiah,  Ruth 
Ann  and  Temperance. 

Ira  Whitcomb  married  Cynthia  Wooden,  the  daughter  of  his  nearest  neigh- 
bor, whose  house  yet  stands  across  the  road  from  the  old  Whitcomb  house. 
Ira  Whitcomb  moved  to  Minnesota,  where  he  lived  until  he  died. 


JAMES  D.   BUTLER. 

With  the  exception  of  those  coming  to  the  saltworks,  probably  James  D.  Butler 
was  the  first  settler  in  his  section  of  the  country.  Mr.  Butler  came  directly  from 
Clark  County,  Ohio,  but  he  had  lived  in  that  state  only  six  years  so  that  he 
really  came  here  a  Vermonter  in  sentiment  and  habits.  He  was  a  native  of 
Vermont,  coming  west  from  Chittenden  County,  Vermont,  to  Clark  County, 
Ohio,  in  1814.  He  left  Ohio  in  the  spring  of  1820,  and  came  to  the  point  of 
timber  which  ran  out  into  the  prairie  west  of  Catlin,  and  took  up  a  claim.  The 
land  had  not  yet  been  surveyed  by  the  government  and  put  upon  the  market. 
Mr.  Butler  had  friends  come  with  him,  neighbors  from  Ohio.  They  all  put 
in  crops  and  returned  to  Ohio  in  the  fall,  expecting  to  come  back  in  the  spring. 
Mr.  Butler  did  come  and  brought  his  family  with  him,  but  the  neighbors  re- 
fused to  come.  They  thought  they  had  enough  of  the  inconvenience  of  the  new 
country.  It  took  courage  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Butler  to  come  to  her  new  home 
under  circumstances  such  as  these.  True  her  husband  was  satisfied  with  con- 
ditions in  the  new  country,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  stories  told  by  the  others 
were  very  discouraging.  But  in  the  due  course  of  time  Mr.  Butler  and  his 
family  reached  their  new  home  and  took  possession  of  the  cabin  he  had  built 
for  them  the  previous  summer.  His  cabin  was  erected  on  the  east  side  of  the 
brook  which  is  even  yet  known  as  Butler's  branch  and  on  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  road  going  from  Catlin  to  the  old  Fair  Grounds.  When  Butler's  family 
moved  in  they  had  as  their  nearest  neighbors,  Treat's  family  at  the  Salt  Springs 
and  to  the  south  the  newcomers  since  his  return  to  Ohio,  a  man  well  known  late 
in  the  county  whose  name  was  Henry  Johnson.  He  had  moved  on  the  Little 
Vermilion  in  the  early  spring.  Within  a  few  years  several  families  came  to 
this  neighborhood  and  Butler's  Point  became  an  important  settlement  and  re- 
mained so  for  some  time  after  the  organization  of  Vermilion  County.  Near 
Butler's  house  there  was  a  large  oak  tree,  which  had  defied  the  prairie  fires 
and  all  threats  of  wind  and  weather,  which  became  a  landmark  and  sentinel 


102  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

which  guided  travelers  crossing  the   trackless  plains   to  the   south  and   west. 
It  was  called  "Butler's  Lone  Tree." 

Later  Mr.  Butler  prospered  and  built  him  a  fine  house,  locating  it  near  the 
corner  of  the  old  Fair  Grounds,  at  the  northeast  corner.  This  house  was  almost 
a  mansion  as  compared  with  all  the  other  cabins.  The  logs  were  square-hewn 
and  the  corners  of  the  building  cut  even  with  the  line  of  the  wall.  It  was  in 
this  house  that  the  first  court  of  Vermilion  County  sat.  Mr.  Butler  was  a 
man  of  good  business,  possessed  a  practical  mind  and  was  conspicuous  in  the 
affairs  of  Vermilion  County  at  an  early  day.  He  had  the  thrift  and  energy  char- 
acteristic of  one  born  and  reared  in  Vermont,  as  well  as  possessing  their  cour- 
age. He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Vermilion  County  at  Butler's  Point 
and  when  he  died  was  buried  in  the  enclosure  since  known  as  the  Butler  Bury- 
ing Grounds.  His  wife  was  buried  in  the  same  burying  grounds.  James  Butler 
and  wife  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  one  son  and  three  daughters.  The 
son  moved  to  Kansas,  one  daughter  became  the  wife  of  her  cousin  by  name  of 
Butler,  the  second  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Marcus  Snow  and  later  of  Cyrus 
Douglas,  and  the  third  daughter  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Fielder  and  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Coleman,  and  went  west.  The  two  daughters  first  mentioned 
were  buried  in  the  Butler  burying  ground. 

HENRY    JOHNSON. 

The  year  James  Butler  came  to  the  place  afterward  called  Butler's  Point 
with  his  family,  the  first  settlement  on  the  Little  Vermilion  was  made  by  Henry 
Johnson.  Some  doubt  is  expressed  on  the  matter  of  date,  however,  and  there 
is  good  reason  to  think  that  he  came  in  the  fall  after  Butler  returned  to  Ohio. 
A  letter  written  by  Henry  Johnson  addressed  to  William  Lowery,  the  mem- 
ber in  the  Illinois  legislature  from  Clark  County  at  that  time,  and  dated  No- 
vember 22,  1822,  is  also  dated  at  Achilles  township,  and  from  what  is  written 
in  the  letter  it  is  evident  that  "Achilles  township  at  that  time  embraced  the 
entire  of  Clark  County,  watered  by  two  Vermilion  rivers  and  extended  as  far 
north  as  the  Kankakee  river."  In  this  letter  Henry  Johnson  states  that  "he 
had  a  knowledge  of  the  affairs  of  this  (Achilles)  township  since  October,  1820." 
With  that  evidence  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  Henry  Johnson  came  to  the  Little 
Vermilion,  some  two  miles  west  of  Georgetown  in  the  fall  of  the  year  that 
James  Butler  came  in  the  spring  and  put  in  a  crop  and  in  the  fall  about  the  time 
Johnson  came,  went  back  to  Ohio  for  the  winter. 

•  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  man  of  generous  impulses  and  his  neighbors  long  sang 
his  praises.  If  a  man  was  hard  pushed  for  ready  money  and  went  to  Henry 
Johnson  he  was  sure  to  get  it,  if  it  was  to  be  had,  and  the  loan  given  so  cordially 
was  never  to  pay  interest.  Mr.  Johnson  would  never  take  interest  on  any  money 
he  loaned.  Mr.  Johnson  sold  his  farm  in  about  1832  or  34,  to  Levy  Long  and  he 
moved  further  west,  to  the  fertile  strip  between  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi 
rivers,  called  the  "Military  Tract."  Here  he  was  making  a  good  farm  until  it 
was  discovered  that  his  title  was  worthless  as  so  many  were,  and  he  lost  all 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  103 

his  land.  Thus  was  the  man  of  whom  his  old  neighbors  could  say  nothing  but 
praise,  who  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  "Good  Samaritan,"  kind  and  generous, 
was  rendered  penniless  by  these  "land  sharks"  and  forced  to  go  yet  further 
west.  He  was  after  this  lost  to  the  knowledge  of  his  old  friends  but  his  kind- 
ness was  told  by  one  generation  to  the  next  and  his  name  kept  as  synonymous 
for  generosity  and  helpfulness. 

ABSOLOM     STARR. 

Absolom  Starr  came  to  Johnson's  Point  in  1821.  This  was  the  settlement 
begun  by  Henry  Johnson,  a  brother-in-law  of  Starr's  the  fall  previous.  Abso- 
lom Starr  came  to  this  part  of  Edgar  County,  as  it  was  at  that  time,  directly 
from  Palestine,  Illinois.  The  land  office  was  located  at  Palestine  before  it  was 
removed  to  Danville. 

When  Mr.  Starr  came  he  brought  corn  and  wheat  enough  to  keep  his  family 
for  a  year.  He  also  brought  a  good  yoke  of  oxen  and  was  well  fixed  to  go 
into  a  new  country  to  make  his  home.  He  brought  his  wife  and  four  children 
with  him.  He  built  his  cabin  on  section  36,  near  to  his  brother-in-law.  So  provi- 
dent a  man  had  every  reason  to  expect  fortune  to  smile  on  him,  but  this  was 
not  the  case,  however.  During  the  first  winter  in  their  new  home  he  had  a 
trivial  injury  to  his  heel,  which  resisted  all  treatment  and  he  was  assured  that 
cancer  had  developed.  A  trip  back  to  their  old  home  in  Palestine,  where  there 
was  a  physician  living  was  of  no  avail,  because  the  idea  of  cancer  was  con- 
firmed and  there  was  great  danger  of  having  to  loose  his  foot.  However,  he 
could  not  raise  the  money  demanded  for  the  operation  and  he  came  back  to  his 
new  home  discouraged  and  almost  despondent.  There  was  an  old  Indian  doctor, 
called  Bonaparte's  Indian,  who  lived  about  there,  and  for  the  want  of  any  more 
skilled  practitioner,  Mrs.  Starr  consulted  him.  By  the  use  of  some  herbs  he 
collected  along  the  Vermilion  river,  he  cured  the  diseased  heel  which  the  physi- 
cian at  Palestine  thought  could  be  reached  only  by  the  use  of  the  knife.  Mrs. 
Starr  nursed  her  husband  back  to  strength,  at  the  same  time  tending  her  garden 
and  two  acres  of  corn.  Henry  Johnson's  kind  heart  helped  this  family  to  take 
care  of  themselves  during  these  hard  days.  Mr.  Starr  lived  until  October  14, 
1829.  He  was  buried  in  the  old  burying  ground,  now  known  as  Mt.  Pisgah 
cemetery,  near  Georgetown. 

Mrs.  Starr  survived  her  husband  and  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Jones,  spending  her  last  years  on  the  farm  she  first  helped  get  into  cultiva- 
tion. She  was  the  mother  of  eleven  children  and  left  many  descendants  in  the 
county,  among  them  being  Mrs.  J.  W.  Giddings. 

JOTHAM  LYONS. 

Jotham  Lyons  took  up  land  west  of  Henry  Johnson  about  the  same  time. 
He  lived  here  until  his  death,  August  2,  1843.  He  was  buried  in  the  present 
Mt.  Pisgah  cemetery,  near  Georgetown.  His  first  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  on 
Christmas  day,  1827,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  burying  ground. 


104  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  children  of  Jotham  Lyons  are  scattered  across  the  country.  One  son 
has  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  old  home  and  identified  himself  with  af- 
fairs of  the  county. 

JOHN    JORDON. 

Another  man  to  settle  in  this  neighborhood  was  John  Jordon.  John  Jor- 
don  came  to  Johnson's  Point  a  short  time  after  Absolom  Starr  arrived,  but  in 
the  same  year. 

WILLIAM  SWANK. 

William  Swank  came  to  the  southern  part  of  the  county  in  this  year  which 
saw  the  advent  of  Henry  Johnson  and  Jotham  Lyons.  He  entered  land  at  where 
Indianola  is  located  and  became  an  active  factor  in  the  development  of  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  The  all  prevailing  demand  of  the  time  for  whiskey  was  not 
lacking  in  this  section,  and  to  meet  this  Mr.  Swank  set  up  a  still-house  down  in 
the  bottom,  where  he  would  make  an  occasional  barrel  of  good  pure  liquor  for  his 
neighbor's  use.  The  condition  of  this  malarial  country  was  one  occasion  of  this 
demand  for  whiskey,  and  this  primitive  way  of  meeting  it  insured  a  pure  article 
for  consumption.  Mr.  Swank  provided  for  the  needs  of  his  neighbors  in  another, 
and  perhaps  better  way  by  the  little  corncracker  which  he  had  attached,  which 
was  run  by  tread-millpower,  and  did  all  the  neighborhood  grinding.  So  promi- 
nent in  the  affairs  of  this  section  did  Mr.  Swank  become,  he  was  given  the  credit 
of  naming  a  village  at  the  place  now  known  as  Indianola.  When  the  village  was  first 
established  it  was  named  Chillacothe.  Since  William  Swank  was  known  through- 
out this  section  as  the  "Father  of  Dallas,"  there  is  no  doubt  of  his  politics,  during 
the  decided  Forties  and  Fifties  when  men  held  strong  views  on  all  questions 
of  the  day  whether  of  politics  or  of  religion.  Mr.  Swank  came  from  the  South 
and  naturally  clung  to  the  habit  of  thought  of  his  youth,  and  was  an  uncomprom- 
ising Democrat.  He  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  into  which  he  first  came 
all  his  life.  His  death  occurred  in  the  late  seventies  and  he  left  children  who 
remained  in  that  section  and  perpetuated  his  name. 

JOHN    MYERS. 

John  Myers  came  to  the  Little  Vermilion  as  early  as  1820  and  settled  on  the 
land  afterward  the  farm  of  the  well  known  R.  E.  Barnett.  While  living  in  this 
place  this  man  was  much  better  known  as  "Injun  John."  He  was  a  man  whose 
nickname  fit  him  more  in  its  implication,  and  suggestion  than  in  any  other  way 
although  he  earned  it  by  his  open  hatred  of  the  Redman. 

He  was  a  character  noticeable  in  even  those  days  when  all  individualities  were 
prominent.  In  the  free  life  of  the  pioneer,  there  was  little  polish  and  every  man 
was  himself,  to  be  liked  or  despised  as  the  case  might  be,  but  even  then,  some 
were  more  prominent  than  others  because  of  unusual  traits  of  character.  "Injun 
John"  was  one  of  these.  He  was  free  with  what  he  had,  and  expected  every 
one  to  be  equally  so.  He  had  little  love  for  property  which  was  his  own,  and 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  105 

no  consideration  for  the  rights  of  others.  He  was  brave,  self-willed  and  on  the 
water  would  have  been  a  gay  buccaneer. 

John  Myers  had  an  eighty  acre  farm  in  Ohio,  but  the  freedom  of  the  new 
country  in  Illinois,  which  was  as  yet  unorganized  into  counties,  but  was  attached 
to  Edgar  County,  appealed  to  him.  So  it  was  Mr.  Starr,  the  uncle  of  Absolom 
and  Barnett  Starr,  who  had  bought  eight  hundred  and  eighty  acres  on  the  Little 
Vermilion  river  at  a  land  sale,  found  an  eager  trader  in  this  man  from  Ohio. 
He  traded  his  farm  of  8  acres  for  this  unseen  88  acres,  and  started  to  take  pos- 
session thereof. 

On  his  way  he  passed  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  Frazier,  in  Indiana,  and 
told  him  he  would  give  him  a  quarter  section  of  this  land  if  he  (Frazier)  would 
go  on  with  him.  This  gift  was  not  to  be  refused  and  they  came  on  and  settled  in 
this  section  in  1821.  The  particular  tract  which  Myers  gave  away  that  he  might 
have  company  in  his  new  home,  afterward  became  a  portion  of  the  Sconce  farm. 
The  land  was  first  bought  by  the  Sullivants  from  Frazier  in  1853,  when  they  were 
the  great  land  kings  of  Champaign  County  and  were  carrying  out  plans  to  develop 
a  large  estate  in  Vermilion  County.  The  Sullivants  cut  the  fine  growth  of  wal- 
nut timber  from  the  Frazier  farm  to  fence  in  "broad  lands."  Myers  was  a 
fearless  and  untiring  hunter.  At  one  time  just  before  he  came  to  this  section  of 
country,  while  yet  he  lived  in  Ohio,  a  neighbor  of  his  with  his  two  sons  were  out 
in  a  sugar  bush  at  work  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  when  some  Indians  surprised 
them  and  killed  them. 

Myers  gathered  together  a  company  and  went  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians. 
They  struck  the  trail  in  the  new  snow  and  followed  it  until  all  but  three  of  the 
pursuers  gave  out  from  exhaustion,  one  of  whom  was  Myers  himself.  With  his 
force  so  depleted,  Myers  told  the  other  two  that  he  would  shoot  the  next  one  who 
refused  to  go  on.  This  increased  the  courage  of  his  companions  and  Myers' 
physical  endurance,  pluck  and  determination  to  avenge  his  friends  was  catching 
"and  carried  the  day,"  and  the  three  overtook  the  Indians  and  had  their  revenge. 
This  was  the  material  of  which  Myers  was  made.  A  man  of  powerful  strength, 
he  would  crack  a  black  walnut  with  his  teath  and  many  a  man  found  to  his 
sorrow  that  it  was  not  wise  to  provoke  him  to  a  fight. 

He  hated  an  Indian  and  was  the  first  to  be  ready  to  go  to  the  Black  Hawk 
war  and  was  one  of  those  who  made  that  war  a  disgrace  to  the  white  man.  He 
knew  no  such  thing  as  discipline ;  abhorred  tactics  and  did  not  believe  in  waiting 
for  orders  or  supplies.  He  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble  by  his  insubordination. 
Habits  of  intemperance  had  grown  on  him,  and  he  would  get  very  drunk  and 
become  abusive  to  the  officers  and  everybody  else.  He  wanted  to  go  into  the  fight 
at  once ;  he  had  gone  into  that  affair  to  kill  Indians  and  he  was  impatient  to  begin. 
He  came  to  "fight  Injuns"  and  fight  he  was  going  to  do,  if  no  one  else,  then  he 
would  try  his  strength  on  the  officers.  He  told  these  new  fledged  officers  that 
they  "knew  no  more  about  fightin'  Injuns  than  a  bear  did  about  a  camp  meetin'  " 
and  he  was  put  under  arrest,  to  his  surprise. 

While  brave  and  generous,  he  had  no  judgment  about  affairs  and  used  up 
all  his  property  before  he  died.  He  took  an  interest  in  every  enterprise  that  was 
proposed.  He  lost  much  money  in  helping  Simon  Cox  try  to  build  a  mill  which 
never  did  get  to  be  a  success. 


106  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Jack  McDowell  was  a  handsome  and  lively  young  man  who  was  struggling 
to  get  on  in  the  world,  and  "Injun  John"  took  a  notion  to  him  and  made  him  an 
offer  of  a  half-section  of  land,  but,  much  as  the  young  man  wanted  the  land  there 
was  a  provision  that  he  should  marry  Myers'  daughter,  and  that  decided  the 
acceptance  of  the  gift.  "Injun  John"  kept  his  land.  He  gave  away  or  lost  all 
his  land  and  went  out  to  the  Illinois  River  where  he  afterward  died  in  poverty. 
Thus  passed  one  of  the  most  picturesque  characters  of  eastern  Illinois. 

HENRY    CANADAY. 

Henry  Canaday  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina  who  moved  north,  with 
his  family,  in  the  fall  of  1820,  and  stopped  over  winter  in  Wayne  County,  Indi- 
ana. Two  of  his  sons  came  on  over  the  state  line  and  put  up  a  cabin  in  what 
is  now  the  southern  part  of  Vermilion  County.  His  four  sons  were  Benjamin, 
Frederich,  William  and  John.  The  entire  family  took  possession  of  the  round 
log  cabin  which  the  two  sons  had  built,  and  began  their  new  life  without  neigh- 
bors other  than  the  Indians  who  camped  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Vermilion 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  to  hunt  and  fish.  They  would  visit  the  cabin  to  beg  and 
steal  and  trade  but  never  seriously  annoyed  them. 

There  were  many  sugar-maple  trees  on  the  land  the  Canadays  had  chosen 
for  their  home  and  they  made  sugar  that  first  spring,  but  they  were  not  con- 
tented and  Benjamin  returned  to  Tennessee,  where  their  old  home  had  been,  and 
bought  a  farm.  Soon  the  entire  family  returned  to  their  old  home  but  it  was 
to  stay  only  during  the  summer.  They  sold  their  property  in  Tennessee  and 
returned  to  their  cabin  on  the  Little  Vermilion  river  before  winter.  This  was 
the  fall  of  1821  and  their  cabin  was  on  what  was  yet  unorganized  territory  at- 
tached to  Edgar  County.  They  had  much  sickness  during  this  winter,  having 
come  from  a  different  climate,  and  the  nearest  physician  was  at  Clinton,  Indiana. 
They  had  to  go  to  mill  on  Raccoon  Creek  in  Park  County,  Indiana,  and  Terre 
Haute  was  the  nearest  trading  point.  They  had  no  horses  when  spring  came 
and  they  broke  ground  with  oxen.  Wild  deer  was  plentiful  and  they  filled  the 
smokehouse  soon  after  they  came  with  deer  hams,  and  also  had  plenty  of  pork. 
When  they  first  came  the  year  before,  they  brought  thirty  hogs  with  them  from 
Indiana  and  when  they  went  back  to  Tennessee  they  left  them  in  the  woods. 
These  animals  lived  in  the  woods  and  became  so  wild  as  to  be  a  menace  to  stock 
for  years  afterward.  Wild  game  was  plentiful  and  deer,  turkey  and  other  fowl 
gave  them  a  variety  of  food.  The  entire  family  occupied  the  one  roomed  cabin 
for  some  time,  and  the  mother  did  the  cooking  by  the  fireplace ;  the  floor  was  of 
puncheon,  the  roof  of  clapboards,  held  down  with  weight  poles  and  the  stick  and 
clay  chimney  was  built  on  the  outside. 

About  the  second  year  of  their  living  at  this  place,  Henry  Canaday,  together 
with  George  Haworth,  "set  up  a  meeting,"  as  it  is  called  by  the  Society  of 
Friends,  when  a  new  church  was  established.  These  two  men  and  others  who 
came  afterwards  to  the  neighborhood,  built  a  log  cabin  in  which  they  had  meet- 
ings and  later  built  a  church  of  hewed  logs.  Sometimes  the  attendance  was  so 
small  that  Henry  Canaday  and  his  son,  Benjamin,  would  go  to  "meeting"  and 


KKEDKRIC  CAXADAY 


ANN"  CAXADAY 


SARAH  M.  ELLIOTT 


JOHN  ELLIOTT 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  107 

sit  through  the  hour  alone,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  church  organization  as  was 
the  demand  of  that  society. 

Henry  Canaday  was  very  prominent  in  the  life  of  the  growing  Vermilion 
County.  He  entered  about  two  sections  of  land  as  soon  as  it  came  into  market, 
and  sold  it  off  to  new  comers.  Henry  Canaday  was  a  tanner  and  a  blacksmith, 
and  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  family  came  to  their  new  home  they  managed 
to  establish  both  trades.  He  could  the  better  do  this  because  of  his  four  grown 
sons.  He  started  a  tanyard  in  which  his  son  William  worked,  and  also  a  tin- 
shop  for  his  son  Benjamin.  William  later  carried  on  harness  making  and  sad- 
lery  but  his  father,  Henry  Canaday,  never  had  that  trade. 

Benjamin  Canaday,  the  oldest  son  of  Henry  Canaday,  was  a  tinner  by  trade 
and  during  the  winter  of  the  big  snow  (1830),  he  made  up  a  stock  of  tin  ware 
and  traded  it  off  at  Louisville  for  goods.  These  he  brought  back  with  him  and 
put  into  a  building  he  had  put  up  for  a  store  on  his  farm  just  west  of  Vermilion, 
(later  Vermilion  Grove),  on  the  Hickory  Grove  road.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  his  career  as  a  merchant.  He  sold  goods  here  for  several  years  before  going 
to  Georgetown  where  he  became  the  largest,  and  at  one  time,  the  most  successful 
merchant. 

Frederick  Canaday,  the  second  son  of  Henry  Canaday,  made  a  valuable  farm 
just  north  of  Vermilion  station  where  he  spent  his  life.  He  was  the  father  of 
four  sons  and  three  daughters.  His  sons,  William,  Henry,  Isaac  and  John,  grew 
to  manhood  and  settled  around  him.  His  daughters  who  became  Mrs.  Law- 
rence, Mrs.  Patterson  and  Mrs.  Ankrum,  went  the  one  to  Kansas,  the  other  to 
Bethel  and  the  third  lived  near  her  father. 

William  Canaday,  the  third  son  of  Henry  Canaday,  married  Miss  Mary 
Haworth,  in  1831,  who  was  the  daughter  of  William  Haworth.  They  were 
the  parents  of  ten  children.  These  children  settled  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  a  number  of  them  near  their  parents'  home.  Mrs.  Mary  (Haworth) 
Canaday  died  in  1855  and  Mr.  Canaday  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Diament,  in 
1873,  for  his  second  wife. 

John  Canaday,  the  youngest  son  of  Henry  Canaday,  lived  all  his  life  on 
\/  the  farm  on  the  state  road  between  Vermilion  and  Georgetown.  He  had  a  good 
farm  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  the  father  of  five  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  Canaday  family  have  been  strong  factors  in  the  development 
of  the  county.  His  family  of  sons  with  their  families  of  sons  and  daughters  have 
made  the  name  one  of  honor  and  pride  in  this  section  which  Henry  Canaday 
found  a  wilderness. 

BENJAMIN    BROOKS. 

Benjamin  Brooks,  the  founder  of  the  important  settlement  called  Brooks' 
Point,  came  to  this  part  of  the  county  in  the  fall  of  1821.  His  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Mr.  Manville,  of  Madison,  Indiana,  and  they  were  married  in 
Indiana  and  came  here  directly  from  Jefferson  County,  of  that  state.  The  na- 
tivity of  Benjamin  Brooks  is  in  doubt  although  there  is  no  question  that  his  wife 
was  born  in  Indiana. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Canaday,  Mr.  Brooks  would  have 
been  in  a  sad  plight.  Mr.  Brooks  had  selected  his  land  when  he  first  came  to  live 


108  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

on  the  Little  Vermilion,  and  then  went  back  after  his  family  and  another  man 
put  a  claim  while  he  was  gone  and  secured  the  land.  Mr.  Canaday  had  some 
further  up  and  let  Mr.  Brooks  have  it  and  it  was  settled  so  rapidly  as  to  have 
the  point  of  timber  known  by  the  name  of  Brooks'  Point. 

GEORGE  WILLIAMS. 

George  Williams  came  early  in  the  twenties  in  company  with  the  Bargers, 
the  Paytons  and  Thos.  Collison,  from  Pike  County,  Ohio.  His  native  state  was 
Delaware.  George  Williams  had  two  sons,  Harrison  and  Abner.  Mrs.  Williams, 
the  mother  of  these  boys  died  of  milk  sickness  in  1825  and  the  boy,  Harrison, 
who  was  then  twelve  years  old,  went  to  live  with  Reason  Zawley,  in  the  Current 
neighborhood.  An  idea  of  the  hardships  of  life  at  that  time  is  had  in  the  tale 
of  this  boy's  going  to  school  in  the  winter  time.  The  school  term  was  limited  to 
a  short  time  in  the  winter  months,  and  the  boy,  without  shoes  or  stockings  on  his 
feet  found  the  snow-covered  road  between  his  cabin  home  a  dread  one  to  travel. 
Without  shoes  he  took  a  hickory  board  and  stood  it  in  front  of  the  fire  place 
until  it  became  as  hot  as  possible  without  catching  fire.  With  his  hot  board  in 
his  arms  he  would  dash  out  of  the  house  and  run  as  far  as  possible  through  the 
snow.  When  he  reached  the  limit  of  endurance,  he  would  put  the  board  down 
on  the  ground,  and  stand  on  it  for  a  little  while,  then  snatching  it  up  would 
run  on  a  little  further.  In  this  way  he  went  to  school  and  when  he  was  ready 
to  go  home  the  same  thing  was  done  over.  In  1834  Harrison  Williams  married 
Anna  Gish,  a  native  of  Virginia  who  had  come  west  when  she  was  fourteen  years 
old.  She  came  with  her  parents  and  settled  in  LaFayette,  Ind.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Williams  made  Danville  their  home,  owning  property  at  that  place.  Two  years 
after  he  was  married  he  bought  the  lot  on  the  S.  E.  corner  of  North  and  Walnut 
streets.  At  this  time  the  lot  faced  Walnut  street  and  extended  east  as  far  as  the 
alley.  A  deed  yet  in  possession  of  the  family  shows  that  this  lot  was  bought  by 
Harrison  Williams  in  1836  for  $30.  The  least  the  inside  lots  could 
now  be  bought  for  is  $150,  per  foot.  This  deed  of  Mr.  Williams  was 
never  recorded  and  a  number  of  years  later  Judge  Terry  was  ordered  by  the 
Courts  to  make  out  a  new  deed,  Mr.  Williams'  address  at  that  time  being  un- 
known. Harrison  Williams  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  helped  build  Gurdon 
Hubbard's  store  which  was  the  first  frame  building  in  Vermilion  County.  He 
also  helped  erect  the  first  Methodist  church  building.  Mr.  Hubbard's  store  was 
on  the  Public  Square  on  the  corner  where  the  Palmer  National  Bank  now  stands. 
The  church  building  was  on  the  southeast  corner  of  North  and  Vermilion  streets, 
Harrison  Williams  moved  to  LaFayette,  Ind.,  in  1840,  and  died  there  in  1851. 
Abner  Williams  was  a  blacksmith  and  lived  in  Danville  until  he  went  to  Scott 
county  on  the  other  side  of  the  state.  He  was  married  twice,  the  first  time  to  a 
Miss  Delay,  a  cousin  of  his,  and  the  second  wife  was  a  Miss  Judd.  He  owned 
the  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  North  and  Vermilion  streets. 

THOMAS  O'NEAL. 

Thomas  O'Neal,  with  his  wife,  Sarah  (Howard)  O'Neal,  came  from  Nelson 
County,  Kentucky,  and  settled  at  Brooks'  Point  in  the  fall  of  1821.  He  was  a 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  109 

native  of  Nelson  County,  while  his  wife  was  a  native  of  Indiana.  Mr.  O'Neal 
first  took  up  a  claim  near  Brooks'  Point,  but  three  years  later  he  entered  near 
the  Big  Vermilion  river.  After  he  moved  to  the  Vermilion  river,  he  established 
a  tanyard  and  made  his  own  leather  from  which  he  made  the  shoes  of  the  family. 
He  made  a  leather  from  which  he  could  make  Indian  moccasins  and  which  the 
Indians  would  get  from  him.  The  winter  months  were  spent  in  making  rails 
with  which  to  fence  his  land  and  clearing  up  the  ground,  thus  adding  about  ten 
acres  of  tillable  land  to  his  farm  every  year.  When  the  Black  Hawk  war  broke 
out,  he  saddled  his  horse  and  with  his  gun  on  his  shoulder,  went  into  the  service. 
His  oldest  son  was  also  in  that  war.  Thomas  O'Neal  remained  in  the  service  as 
long  as  the  war  lasted.  When  he  returned  home  he  again  took  up  the  work  of 
improving  his  farm  with  renewed  determination  to  make  a  valuable  property, 
and  met  great  success.  He  died  September,  1861,  and  his  wife  died  two  years 
later.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children  who  have  kept  the  name  a  well 
known  one  through  almost  a  century  in  Vermilion  County. 

JOHN   HAWORTH. 

John  Haworth  came  to  the  little  Vermilion  at  very  nearly  the  same  time  as 
Henry  Canaday  and  they  were  close  friends  as  long  as  they  lived.  The  two  fam- 
ilies have  inter-married  and  had  common  interests  during  all  the  years  since 
their  coming.  A  Mr.  Malsby  built  a  cabin  near  where  Vermilion  Grove  is  lo- 
cated, in  1820;  however  he  did  not  stay  but  left  his  cabin  and  went  to  some  other 
place,  so  his  claim  to  citizenship  is  not  valid.  John  Haworth,  as  early  as  1818, 
was  living  in  Tennessee,  but  had  become  so  distressed  with  the  institutions  of  the 
south  that  he  could  no  longer  endure  life  there.  He  lived  in  Union  County, 
so  he  came  to  the  little  Vermilion  river  in  the  fall  of  1820.  Here  he  found 
the  cabin  deserted  by  Malsby  and  took  possession  of  it  and  wintered  in 
it.  George  Bocke,  a  son-in-law  to  Achilles  Morgan,  had  a  claim  on  the  cabin,  but 
Mr.  Haworth  bought  it.  John  Haworth's  cousin  James  later  came  to  George- 
town. John  Haworth's  neighbors  were  Henry  Johnson  and  Absolom  Starr,  off 
a  few  miles  northwest;  Mr.  Squires  and  Thomas  Curtis  at  Yankee  Point,  three 
miles  east ;  John  Mills,  Simon  Cox  and  Dickson  to  the  west,  with  Henry  Canaday 
near  by. 

Mr.  Haworth  entered  several  hundred  acres  of  land  but  he  did  not  do  this  as 
a  speculation.  Indeed  he  was  ready  to  sell  it  whenever  he  could  find  any  one  who 
would  make  a  desirable  citizen,  and  he  would  sell  it  cheap  and  on  time  if  so  desired. 
John  Haworth's  name  has  gone  into  history  as  a  man  well  being  called  a  Christian 
gentleman.  He  was  the  father  of  eight  children.  His  uncle,  a  man  of  much 
worth,  soon  joined  this  settlement,  and,  together  with  Henry  Canaday,  established 
the  strong  Society  of  Friends  in  Vermilion  County  who  were  so  great  a  factor  in 
its  development. 

ACHILLES   MORGAN. 

One  of  the  men  who  made  an  impress  on  the  affairs  of  the  county  was  Achilles 
Morgan,  who  came  to  this  section  in  about  1825  or  6.  He  was  accompanied 
with  one  at  least  of  his  daughters  and  her  husband.  They  came  from  Virginia 


110  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

where  they  as  a  family  were  great  Indian  fighters.  Mr.  Morgan  located  on  sec- 
tion 15  and  was  from  the  first  recognized  as  a  leading  man  in  affairs  of  the  county. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  County  Commissioners,  who,  together  with  John  B.  Alex- 
ander and  James  Butler,  organized  and  set  to  going  the  machinery  of  Vermilion 
County.  The  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived  was  called  Morgans  and  is  perhaps 
the  place  platted  and  on  record  as  Morgantown. 

HENRY    MARTIN. 

Henry  Martin  came  to  this  section  with  his  father-in-law,  Achilles  Morgan. 
After  going  to  Brooks'  Point  settled  near  Georgetown  at  a  place  afterward  called 
Morgans.  Some  claim  this  family  went  first  to  Butler's  Point  and  some  even  say 
they  stopped  at  the  salt  works.  Henry  Martin  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1786 
and  moved  with  his  parents  to  Virginia,  where  he  afterward  married  Mary  Mor- 
gan, a  daughter  of  Achilles  Morgan.  He  served  one  year  in  the  war  of  1812  and 
later  moved  to  Illinois,  making  permanent  settlement  in  the  unorganized  territory 
attached  to  Edgar  County.  He  enlisted  under  his  father-in-law  in  1826  at  the  time 
of  the  Winnebago  war  and  followed  the  lead  of  Gurdon  Hubbard  to  protect  Fort 
Dearborn  from  the  Indians  of  the  northwest.  Henry  Martin  lived  on  the  farm 
near  Georgetown  until  his  death,  September  5,  1851. 

Henry  Martin  was  the  father  of  a  large  family,  one  of  his  sons  being  a  well 
known  preacher.  Rawley  Martin  came  with  his  father  from  Virginia,  a  boy  of 
four  or  five  years,  who  had  a  life  of  usefulness  in  the  country  of  his  adoption. 
He  showed  wonderful  energy  and  perseverance,  for,  although  there  were  no 
schools  for  him  to  attend,  he  acquired  a  very  liberal  education.  He  had  a  very 
ambitious  mother  who  was  well  educated,  and  through  her  influence  he  early 
became  familiar  with  the  contents  of  all  the  books  possible  to  obtain,  principal 
among  which  was  the  Bible.  Indeed,  he  became  so  familiar  with  this  book  that 
he  could  repeat  it  almost  verbatim.  He  early  united  with  the  Christian  church, 
and  in  time  was  ordained  preacher  of  this  denomination.  He  continued  in  this 
work  for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  During  this  time  he  organized  many 
churches  in  the  county,  baptized  more  than  three  thousand  people,  doing  much  to 
strengthen  the  cause  of  his  chosen  faith.  He  was  a  superior  teacher  of  the  scrip^ 
tures,  was  unyielding  and  uncompromising  in  his  religious  convictions.  He  was 
an  able  and  earnest  defender  of  the  faith.  During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he 
publicly  denounced  the  right  of  secession  and  upheld  the  cause  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union.  He  filled  two  terms  as  County  Treasurer,  the  expression  of  a 
patriotic  people  of  confidence  in  the  man.  Rawley  Martin  was  the  father  of  two 
children,  one  of  them  being  Achilles  Martin  and  the  other,  Mrs.  George  Dillon. 

JAMES   HOAG  AND  SAMUEL    MUNNEL. 

James  Hoag  and  Samuel  Munnel  are  both  known  to  have  lived  along  the 
Little  Vermilion  as  early  as  this  time,  but  little  is  recorded  of  them. 

ROBERT   COTTON. 

Robert  Cotton  came  to  this  section  in  the  fall  of  1822.  He  was  born  in  the 
vicinity  of  Beardstown,  Kentucky,  and  there  grew  to  manhood  and  married  Han- 


KATHERIXE    (ALEXANDER)    McDONALD 


HEZEKIAH  CUNNINGHAM 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  111 

nah  Howard,  who  was  born  in  the  same  place.  They  were  the  parents  of  two 
children  before  they  left  their  native  state  to  go  to  Switzerland  County,  Indiana. 
Thence  they  went  to  Decatur  County  in  the  same  state  and,  once  more  moving, 
they  came  to  what  is  now  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  In  many  respects  both 
Robert  Cotton  and  his  son  Henry  showed  their  Puritan  ancestry,  they  being  de- 
scended from  John  Cotton  of  Massachusetts.  Robert  Cotton  lived  but  two  years 
after  coming  to  this  section,  dying  while  yet  a  young  man  in  1824.  He  left  seven 
children.  Henry  Cotton,  the  son  of  Robert  Cotton,  was  the  next  to  the  youngest 
of  the  children  of  Robert  Cotton.  He  grew  up  amid  wild  scenes  of  pioneer  life. 
The  wild  beasts  abounded,  deer  were  plentiful,  and  the  wolves  howled  about  the 
cabin  door  at  night.  The  education  of  the  Cotton  children  was  had  in  a  log  cabin 
school-house  with  puncheon  floors,  the  window  panes  of  greased  paper  and  the 
only  means  of  heating  being  a  long  fireplace,  across  one  end  of  the  room.  The 
school  term  was  but  a  few  months  in  the  winter,  and  the  requirements  of  the 
teacher  were  but  that  he  could  read,  write  and  cipher.  Henry  Cotton  liked  to  go 
to  school  and  when  he  was  twenty-two  years  old  he  had  acquired  enough  informa- 
tion to  tempt  him  to,  in  turn,  be  teacher.  He  taught  school  for  two  or  three  years, 
during  the  winters.  During  the  time  he  was  teaching  school,  Henry  Cotton  was 
married  to  a  Miss  Getty  of  Pennsylvania.  During  the  summer  months  Henry 
Cotton  would  follow  the  life  of  the  flatboat  man.  He  made  eighteen  trips  to 
and  from  New  Orleans  in  this  way.  It  was  upon  one  of  these  trips  that  he 
met  Miss  Getty  and  soon  afterward  was  married.  They  lived  in  Vincennes  for 
eight  years  and  then  came  to  Danville  township,  and  was  on  his  way  to  pros- 
perity. He  was  working  at  the  carpenter's  trade  while  not  on  the  river.  Soon 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out,  however,  and  Mr.  Cotton  enlisted  in  service, 
joining  the  I25th  Illinois  Infantry.  A  year  later  he  was  obliged  to  accept  an 
honorable  discharge  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  left  the  country  for  other 
locations  after  this  and  did  not  return  until  1882  when  he  came  to  Westville 
and  became  a  merchant.  He  made  his  home  here,  serving  as  postmaster  three 
years  during  the  term  of  office  of  Pres.  Arthur,  and  was  justice  of  the  peace  for 
several  years. 

STEVEN   DUKES. 

Steven  Dukes  was  born  in  Virginia  and  his  wife,  Rachel  (Lewis)  Dukes, 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee.  They  came  to  Brooks'  Point  in  1822.  Brooks' 
Point  was  just  east  of  Westville  about  where  Kelleyville  is  now  located.  Their 
eldest  son  was  born  at  that  place  January  25,  1828. 

ASA    ELLIOTT. 

Asa  Elliott,  who  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  county  in  its 
earliest  life,  came  to  Butler's  Point  to  make  his  new  home  in  1822.  He  was 
one  of  the  second  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Vermilion  County,  and  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  a  good  business  man  and  very  successful. 
His  home,  at  which  the  court  was  held  just  before  the  county  seat  was  located 
at  Danville,  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  west  line  of  Catlin  village. 
He  had  a  log  house  at  first  but  built  a  better  one.  He  lived  here  all  his  life  and 


112  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

after  his  death  his  son  sold  the  property  to  Mr.  Sandusky  and  moved  to  Kan- 
sas.    Mr.  Elliott  was  buried  in  the  old  Butler  burying  ground. 

JOHN  MILLS. 

John  Mills  came  to  this  part  of  Illinois  in  1822,  bringing  his  family  with  him. 
He  settled  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  23,  range  12,  township  17,  after 
a  journey  attended  with  many  difficulties.  He  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina 
and  moved  to  Ross  Creek,  East  Tennessee,  before  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  one 
of  the  men  who  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Tennessee  and  left  to  get 
away  from  the  institution  of  the  South  which  was  very  objectionable  to  him. 
Henry  Canaday  and  John  Haworth  had  both  preceeded  him.  He  came 
in  company  with  George  Haworth.  Along  their  route  there  were  various 
swamps,  and  when  four  or  five  miles  south  of  Quaker  Point,  their  destina- 
tion, they  found  themselves  unable  to  go  further.  There  were  a  half  dozen  girls 
in  the  party  of  neighbors  who  had  made  the  trip  together,  and  they  started  off  on 
foot.  Taking  the  teams  from  the  wagons,  which  they  abandoned,  for  the  present 
at  least,  the  men,  women  and  little  children  came  on  as  best  they  might.  If  the 
way  was  too  difficult  for  the  horses  to  draw  the  wagons,  it  could  not  be  in  very 
good  condition  for  walking.  They  reached  John  Haworth's  by  dark,  however, 
very  glad  to  find  their  journey  at  an  end,  since  he  lived  near  Quaker  Point  just 
within  the  limits  of  present  day  Vermilion  County.  Later,  the  travelers  man- 
aged to  get  their  wagons  free  of  the  deep  mud  and  taken  on  their  way.  John 
Mills  settled  among  the  Indians  and  wild  animals  and  entered  four  and  one- 
fourth  sections  of  land,  where  he  put  up  a  round  log  cabin,  with  a  puncheon  floor, 
a  great  fireplace  in  one  end  of  the  room,  with  a  stick  and  clay  chimney  outside 
and  a  clapboard  roof.  The  house  contained  only  one  room  but  there  was  a  loft 
where  the  boys  slept.  The  nearest  trading  point  was  Terre  Haute,  and  the  pio- 
neers went  to  mill  on  Sugar  Creek,  in  Parke  County,  Indiana,  with  ox  teams. 
Deer  were  numerous,  the  settlers  being  able  to  kill  them  almost  from  their  door. 
The  wolves  made  night  dismal  with  their  howling,  and  the  chickens,  pigs  and 
sheep,  had  to  be  securely  housed  in  order  to  save  them.  The  woods  were  full 
of  bee  trees  and  there  was  an  abundance  of  wild  fruit.  This  section  of  the  coun- 
try was  almost  literally  a  "land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  but  there  was  much 
sickness.  The  death  of  Hannah  Mills  was  the  first  one  in  the  neighborhood. 
She  died  in  the  summer  of  1823,  and  her  remains  were  the  first  to  be  buried  in 
what  is  now  Vermilion  Grove  Cemetery.  Mr.  James  Haworth,  who  accom- 
panied John  Mills  to  Illinois  and  settled  near  him,  was  the  father  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, most  of  whom  lived  to  maturity  and  did  their  part  in  molding  the  affairs 
of  Vermilion  County. 

ALEXANDER    MCDONALD. 

(Written  by  R.  D.  McDonald.) 

Alexander  McDonald,  a  pioneer  of  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  was  a  native 
of  Tennessee,  where  he  was  born  in  1796.  He,  in  company  with  John  B.  Alex- 
ander and  his  family,  one  of  whom  he  had  married,  came  to  Illinois  in  the  year 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  113 

1820.  He  located  near  Paris,  where  he  remained  two  years,  and  in  1822  he 
moved  to  the  Little  Vermilion  timber,  and  made  a  farm  about  three  miles  west  of 
where  Georgetown  now  is.  His  neighbors  were  mostly  Indians,  bears,  panthers, 
wild  cats,  and  other  wild  creatures,  of  which  the  woods  were  full.  Among  the 
earliest  recollections  of  the  writer  of  this  sketch  are  accounts  of  the  child-like 
crying  of  panthers,  told  by  the  first  settlers  in  this  wilderness.  There  was  no 
Georgetown,  no  Vermilion  County,  no  Danville,  no  Chicago,  then.  It  is  hard 
for  a  citizen  of  Vermilion  County,  of  sixty  years  of  age,  to  believe  that  only  a 
few  years  before  his  birth,  Illinois  was  such  a  wilderness.  Such  it  was  for  many 
years  after  Alexander  McDonald  commenced  making  his  farm.  At  that  time 
Edgar  County  reached  almost  to  the  northern  border  of  the  state.  In  1826,  the 
land  attached  to  Edgar  County  on  the  north  was  made  into  a  new  county,  and 
named  Vermilion.  The  south  part  of  the  state  was  settled  first  and  mostly  by 
people  from  the  southern  states.  On  his  farm  on  the  border  of  civilization,  Mr. 
McDonald  lived  with  his  wife,  Catherine  Alexander  McDonald,  who  came  into 
this  world  in  the  year  1800,  and  on  it  they  raised  ten  children,  six  daughters  and 
four  sons,  all  of  such  character  that  their  acquaintances  were  glad  to  point  to 
them  as  their  friends.  Mr.  McDonald  was  justice  of  the  peace,  whether  by  ap- 
pointment or  by  election,  I  do  not  know.  He  was  also  postmaster.  The  duties 
of  both  offices  were  performed  at  his  residence.  The  first  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  in  the  county,  was  organized  at  his  home  and  in  it,  the  congrega- 
tion held  all  services  for  a  long  time,  and,  until  a  meeting  house  was  built  on  his 
land.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  church  until  his  death  in  1861. 

Uncle  Alex  McDonald  was  an  old  fashioned  Democrat.  Accepting  the 
principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as  to  the  inalienable  rights  of  men 
in  their  true  spirit,  he  could  not  remain  contented  in  a  slave  state.  He  was 
among  the  first  insurgents  in  the  Democratic  party,  when  it  attempted  to  extend 
slavery.  He  claimed  no  advantage  of  birth,  condition  or  position.  The  passport 
to  his  confidence  was  merit.  He  had  sympathy  and  hospitality  for  all.  I  lived, 
when  a  boy,  in  his  house  for  some  time.  I  never  saw,  or  heard  of  an  applicant 
for  a  meal  or  a  night's  lodging,  being  turned  away.  All  were  supplied  without 
money  and  without  price.  I  can  truly  apply  the  following  lines  to  him : 

"A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 
Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race 
Unskillful  he,  to  fawn  or  seek  for  power 
Far  other  aims  his  heart  had  learned  to  prize. 
More  bent  to  raise  the  wretched  than  to  rise 
His  house  was  known  to  all  the  vagrant  train, 
He  chid  their  wanderings,  but  relieved  their  pain. 
The  ruined  spendthrift  now  no  longer  proud, 
Claimed  kindred  there  and  had  his  claim  allowed." 

The  wives  of  the  pioneers  deserve  equal  honors  with  their  husbands,  if  not 
greater.  They  endured,  and  shared  all  the  hardships  incident  to  a  new  country 
and  suffered  its  privations  and  by  their  womanly  nature  softened  the  manners  of 
the  people.  Catherine,  wife  of  Alexander  McDonald,  when  scarcely  more  than 


114  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

a  young  girl,  left  society  and  many  cultured  friends  among  whom  she  was  raised, 
and  came  into  the  wilderness  where  she  endured  privations  unknown  to  women 
of  this  year  1910.  She  was  a  helpmeet,  indeed.  With  no  servant,  she,  with 
handspinning  wheel,  hand  loom,  scissors,  and  needle  made  all  the  clothing  for  the 
family,  and  over,  and  around  an  open  fire,  she  cooked  the  food  they  and  their 
guests  ate.  I  can  truthfully  say  that  Aunt  Catherine  never  spoke  a  cross  word 
to,  nor  a  complaining  word  of,  any  person.  I  feel  sure  that  of  her,  as  Jesus 
said  of  little  children,  could  be  said,  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  She 
lived  to  be  eighty-one  years  old  and  died  in  Danville  in  the  home  of  her  son, 
Milton,  and  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband  in  the  Weaver  graveyard, 
about  one  mile  south  of  the  house  where  they  raised  their  family. 

JOHN  LENEVE. 

John  LeNeve,  a  young  man  of  twenty,  came  to  what  is  now  Newell  township 
in  1823.  His  birthplace  was  Tennessee,  whence  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Illinois  when  he  was  but  a  lad  and  they  settled  in  what  is  now  Lawrence  County, 
on  the  Ellison  Prairie  directly  west  of  Vincennes.  He  had  a  brother,  Obadiah, 
who  in  1822  took  a  journey  into  the  newer  country  looking  for  a  location.  This 
journey  took  Obadiah  LeNeve  from  Vincennes  to  St.  Louis,  and  thence  into 
northeast  Missouri,  and  on  his  homeward  trip  through  a  circuit  in  northern  Illi- 
nois. Coming  into  the  section  now  Newell  township  of  Vermilion  County,  he  took 
a  great  fancy  to  the  country  and  decided  upon  locating  there.  Before  he  left  the 
favored  place  he  took  the  numbers  of  the  following  tracts :  W.  one-half  N.  W., 
one-fourth  sec.  23,  and  E.  one-half  N.  E.,  one-fourth  section  24,  town  20  N., 
range  II  W.,  3rd  principal  meridian,  and  after  going  home  there  was  a  sale  of 
land  when  he  bought  this  particularly  desired  part.  Just  before  Christmas  the 
two  brothers  took  their  belongings,  such  as  would  be  needed  in  a  new  country,  as 
provisions  and  bedding,  and  set  off  for  their  new  home.  A  third  person  accompanied 
them  to  take  the  team  back.  On  reaching  their  destination  they  cut  a  few  rails 
and  laid  up  a  square,  chinking  and  filling  the  spaces  with  pulled  grass,  and  cov- 
ering one-half  of  the  rude  structure  with  puncheons.  The  Indians  were  very 
friendly  and  proved  themselves  honest  and,  on  the  whole,  not  bad  neighbors. 
When  they  were  about  at  the  time  the  new  white  settlers  were  eating,  the  Indians 
were  invited  to  share  their  meal  which  they  did  and  showed  themselves  friendly 
and  inclined  to  treat  the  newcomers  with  all  kindness.  These  two  brothers 
spent  the  winter  splitting  rails  until,  when  in  February  they  began  making  prepar- 
tion  for  their  return  to  arrange  a  permanent  removal  to  this  section.  They  used 
some  of  their  rails  to  build  a  cabin  for  Ben  Butterfield  who  expected  to  arrive 
toward  the  last  of  February.  He  came,  as  was  expected,  and  the  LeNeves 
went  back,  to  return  later,  prepared  to  make  a  permanent  settlement.  John  Le- 
Neve married  Rebecca  Newell,  the  daughter  of  the  man  who  was  the  leader  of 
affairs  in  that  part  of  the  county  as  long  as  he  lived.  Rebecca  Newell  came  with 
her  father  from  Harrison  County,  Kentucky,  not  long  after  the  LeNeves  had 
made  this  settlement  in  this  particular  section. 

John  LeNeve,  it  is  said,  had  a  limited  amount  of  money,  in  exact  figures 
being  one  hundred  and  thirteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  ($113.50)  and  he  invested 


MRS.  JOHN  DICKSON 


JOHN  LE  NEVE 


REBECCA  (NEWELL) 
LE  NEVE 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  115 

$100  of  it  in  timber  and  prairie  land  at  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre  leaving 
him  thirteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  with  which  to  begin  fanning.  But  he  could 
count  among  his  assets  a  pair  of  good  strong  arms  and  a  willing  heart  to  work,  so 
his  success  was  assured.  From  this  modest  beginning  Mr.  LeNeve  became  a 
land  owner  of  pretention,  and  his  farm  is  yet  a  landmark  testifying  to  his  thrift, 
and  industry. 

His  brother,  Obadiah  LeNeve,  was  a  man  particularly  remembered  as  one 
of  charity  and  public  spirit.  He  was  always  kind  to  the  widow  and  orphan  and 
seemed  to  feel  a  responsibility  to  share  with  those  less  well  off  than  he.  He 
never  butchered  without  killing  more  than  enough  for  himself,  so  as  to  give  to 
those  not  able  to  buy  meat.  He  was  always  ready  to  help  any  one  in  distress 
and  was  widely  known  and  universally  loved.  He  was  born  in  1799  and  died 
in  1884.  John  LeNeve  lived  on  the  old  homestead  all  his  life  and  died  there. 
His  wife  also  spent  her  last  days  in  her  own  home  and  died  and  was  buried 
from  the  old  homestead. 

WILLIAM    MCDOWELL. 

William  McDowell  came  to  the  Little  Vermilion  in  the  year  1823  with  his 
four  grown  sons  and  two  married  daughters.  He  came  from  Kentucky  and 
settled  south  of  the  creek.  His  sons  were  John,  Archie,  James  and  William, 
and  they  were  all  very  much  in  need  of  this  world's  goods.  They  had  come  to 
this  new  country  to  try  to  make  a  new  home  under  better  conditions.  The 
seven  years  previous  to  his  coming  had  been  spent  in  Palestine  in  poverty,  but 
the  children  were  old  enough  to  help  in  the  family  and  all  had  concluded  to 
spend  the  $100  which  they  had  managed  to  save  up  that  would  be  enough  to 
enter  eighty  acres  of  land.  So  the  eighty  acres  of  land  was  entered  in  sections 
35  and  36,  range  13,  and  they  came  here  to  live  with  little  else  other  than  the 
strength  of  the  father's  hands  and  the  courage  of  the  not  overstrong  sons. 
When  McDowell  arrived  at  this  new  home,  he  built  his  cabin  on  a  piece  of  land 
adjoining  what  he  had  bought,  thinking  he  would  buy  this  other  piece  as  soon 
as  possible.  One  day  he  learned  that  another  man,  Peter  Summe,  had  gone  to 
Palestine  to  enter  that  same  piece  of  land.  He  had  not  a  dollar  but  he  deter- 
mined if  possible  to  prevent  that  and  to  save  the  land.  He  started  on  horse- 
back to  ride  to  Palestine,  and  spared  neither  the  horse  nor  himself.  Riding  all 
night  he  reached  there  before  business  hours  and  went  directly  to  the  house  of 
the  register,  who  was  a  friend  of  his,  and  told  him  the  trouble.  The  register, 
to  help  him  out,  made  the  papers  out  trusting  him  for  sixty  days.  This  act 
would  have  cost  him  his  place  had  it  been  known,  because  Peter  Summe  was 
there  with  the  gold  in  his  hand.  McDowell  came  back  happy,  but  it  cost  him 
dearly,  since  the  worry  over  getting  the  hundred  dollars  inside  of  the  two 
months  (he  had  to  sell  some  of  his  land  to  do  this)  threw  him  into  a  fever  from 
which  he  died.  Several  members  of  his  family  died  at  about  the  same  time. 
The  death  of  his  father  compelled  John  McDowell  to  care  for  the  family  and 
work  out  his  fortune  as  best  he  could.  He  had  no  money,  but  he  was  plucky 
and  worked  for  whomever  needed  him,  for  whatever  wage  he  could  get,  all 
the  time  determined  to  win  out,  which  he  did.  A  few  years  later  he  split  rails 
to  pay  for  the  land  he  lived  on  and,  in  time,  he  bought  and  paid  'for  eleven  bun- 


116  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

dred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  the  most  of  which  he  gave  to  his  children,  living 
all  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  the  land  which  his  father  made  that  night's 
ride  to  Palestine  to  buy  on  credit. 

AARON    MENDENHALL. 

Aaron  Mendenhall  was  born  in  Guilford,  North  Carolina,  near  the  scene  of 
the  battle  of  the  Guilford  Court  House.  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  Ohio 
Territory,  his  father  brought  the  family  to  this  new  territory  and  was  killed 
while  on  his  way,  by  Indians.  At  this  time  Aaron  Mendenhall  was  a  small 
child.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  Ohio  and  in  1824  he,  with  his  family,  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  started  for  a  new  country.  They  came  to  the 
Little  Vermilion  and  entered  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  which  is 
now  in  the  farm  of  Silas  Baird.  This  land  was  entered  while  yet  Illinois  was 
a  wilderness,  at  least  excepting  in  certain  localities  in  the  southern  part.  Like 
other  pioneers  this  family  endured  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  such  a 
life.  They  were,  however,  brave  and  stout  hearted  and  made  successful  battle 
in  subduing  the  wild  land  and  making  it  blossom.  Thrifty  and  industrious, 
they  taught  their  children  to  work  and  developed  them  physically  and  morally 
at  the  same  time.  Politically,  Mr.  Mendenhall  was,  as  his  son  said,  "a  whig, 
morning,  noon  and  afternoon,"  as  long  as  that  party  was  in  power.  He  looked 
upon  Henry  Clay  as  one  of  America's  greatest  statesmen,  and  so  taught  his 
children  to  do.  Later  they  were  as  staunch  Republicans.  His  children  who 
lived  to  maturity  lived  about  him,  and  in  this  neighborhood  of  friends  were 
most  consistent  members  of  that  society. 

CYRUS  DOUGLAS. 

Cyrus  Douglas  was  one  of  the  few  early  citizens  of  Vermilion  County  who 
was  a  native  of  any  place  above  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  Mr.  Douglas  was 
born  in  Vermont  and  came  to  Butler's  Point  in  1824.  Whether  he  was  an  old 
friend  of  James  Butler  there  is  no  record  nor  if  he  even  knew  Mr.  Butler  prev- 
ious to  his  coming  to  this  place.  The  fact  that  they  came  from  the  same  state 
when  so  few  people  from  that  part  of  the  country  were  drawn  to  this  section, 
is  suggestive,  but  may  have  been  but  a  coincidence. 

Mr.  Douglas  was  a  hatter  by  trade  in  New  York  and  brought  material  with 
him  in  emigrating  to  the  west  to  engage  in  business  in  St.  Louis.  He  remained 
there  for  a  time  and  then  went  to  Brown  County,  Indiana.  He  remained  in 
Indiana  for  a  short  time  when  the  report  of  the  promising  conditions  on  the 
Wabash  reached  him  and  he  went  to  Eugene  entering  some  land  near  there 
east  of  Georgetown.  The  grant  to  this  land  was  signed  by  President  Monroe. 
After  a  while  he  moved  to  Butler's  Point  and  it  was  while  he  was  there  that 
he  was  married,  being  the  first  or  perhaps  it  were  better  to  say,  second  man 
married  within  this  section,  later  known  as  Vermilion  County. 

ROBERT     DICKSON. 

Robert  Dickson  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  born  December  16,  1765,  and 
moved  to  Kentucky,  where  he  was  married  in  Mason  County  to  Phebe  Means. 


RICHARD  AXD  LOUFSA  MENDENHALL          WILLIAM  AXD  ELIZABETH  HOLODAY 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  117 

Some  time  after  their  marriage  they  settled  in  Lewis  County,  but  later  decided 
to  try  a  new  country  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1824,  settling  in  the  southern  part 
of  that  which  was  to  be  Vermilion  County.  Mrs.  Dickson  died  that  year  at 
the  age  of  forty-eight.  Mr.  Dickson  survived  her  but  three  years  when  he 
died  from  typhus  fever.  Politically  Mr.  Dickson  was  a  Democrat,  and  as  well 
as  his  wife,  he  was  a  staunch  Presbyterian.  David  Dickson  was  the  sixth  son 
of  Mr.  Robert  Dickson,  and  came  from  Kentucky  with  his  parents  when  he 
was  almost  a  man  grown,  he  having  been  born  December  13,  1806.  When  his 
father  died  three  years  later  he  was  at  his  majority  and  took  a  man's  part.  He 
bore  his  part  in  the  development  of  the  county  and  well  deserves  to  be  reckoned 
among  the  makers  of  Vermilion  County.  His  life  was  one  of  sobriety  and  his 
temperate  habits  showed  in  his  honorable  old  age.  He  was  the  pioneer  stock- 
man and  feeder  and  in  all  his  intercourse  with  his  fellowmen  he  always  had 
their  confidence  and  esteem.  The  oldest  son  of  Robert  Dickson  was  a  boat 
builder  and  when  they  decided  to  leave  Kentucky  he  and  David  built  a  flat- 
boat  and  their  father  bought  a  keel  boat,  and  they  loaded  their  stock,  farming 
utensils  and  household  goods,  together  with  the  family,  on  these  boats,  and  set 
sail  on  the  Ohio  river  for  the  "promise  land." 

At  Louisville,  however,  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  boats  and  un- 
loading the  stock,  which  consisted  of  oxen,  horses  and  cows,  and  make  their 
way  overland  to  their  destination.  The  two  boys  who  had  built  the  boat,  and 
another  older  brother,  pushed  the  keelboat  up  the  Wabash  river  and  unloaded 
its  contents  a  little  way  above  Newport,  Indiana,  at  Coleman's  Prairie,  thence 
they  hauled  their  property  to  their  destination,  which  was  the  land  their  father 
had  entered  from  the  government  when  he  came  the  year  before.  When  David 
Dickson  was  twenty-three  years  old  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Waters,  who  had 
but  a  year  previous  to  this  time  come  with  her  father  from  Bourbon  County, 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Dickson  loved  to  describe  this  section  as  it  looked  to  him  when 
he  first  saw  it.  It  was,  according  to  his  description,  exceedingly  beautiful, 
diversified  with  prairie  and  timber,  the  meadows  and  marshes  thriving  with  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  prairie  grass  and  wild  flowers.  Wild  animals  of  many  kinds 
abounded,  while  poisonous  reptiles,  the  rattlesnake,  blue  racer,  black  and  garter 
snake,  kept  the  traveler  on  the  close  lookout.  There  were  also  great  quantities 
of  wild  birds,  geese,  ducks  and  pheasants,  besides  turkeys  and  pigeons.  The 
people  of  that  time  and  place  were  noted  for  their  hospitality,  and  the  commun- 
ity of  interest  which  led  them  at  all  times  to  be  regardful  of  each  other's  welfare. 
After  the  death  of  Robert  Dickson  each  of  the  boys  started  out  for  himself. 
While  all  were  bright  and  energetic,  David  was,  perhaps,  most  successful.  He 
began  entering  land  and  in  time  found  himself  the  owner  of  1,400  acres  which 
he  had  to  a  large  extent  put  into  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  Much  of  this  land 
was  obtained  on  a  Mexican  warrant.  Before  he  was  married  he  worked  at  one 
time  at  the  salt  works.  He  walked  to  Fort  Clark  (now  Peoria)  in  1827,  just 
after  his  father  died  on  his  way  to  Galena  to  work  in  the  lead  mines.  He  car- 
ried his  clothes  and  provisions  in  a  knapsack.  There  he  had  the  vessel  which 
was  fired  upon  by  the  Winnebago  Indians  pointed  out  to  him.  He  worked  for 
a  while  in  the  mines  at  New  Diggings  and  became  acquainted  with  the  founder 


118  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  Fort  Gratiot.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  he  worked  his  way  down  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  St.  Louis  on  a  keel  boat,  then  purchased  a  pony  and  rode  home. 
Mr.  Dickson  made  his  first  trip  to  the  little  town  of  Chicago  in  1832,  taking  a 
load  of  produce  drawn  by  oxen.  Later  he  began  feeding  cattle  and  was  the 
first  man  to  engage  in  this  industry  on  the  Little  Vermilion  river.  In  1844  he 
drove  100  head  of  hogs  to  Chicago  and  in  the  years  immediately  following,  he 
shipped  several  herds  in  this  way  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York  City.  Mr. 
Dickson  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  faith  all  his  life. 


JOHN    SNIDER. 

John  Snider,  with  his  wife  and  three  small  children,  came  from  Ohio  on 
horseback  to  what  is  now  Blount  township  of  Vermilion  County,  in  1824,  and 
built  his  home  in  the  forest.  He  entered  a  quarter  section  of  land  and  built 
a  log  house.  The  Indians  made  sugar  and  held  their  meetings  near  the  cabin  of 
John  Snider.  It  was  a  strange  place  to  try  to  build  a  home ;  the  entire  country 
was  full  of  sloughs  and  ponds.  However,  John  Snider  lived  to  see  a  great 
change  in  the  country.  He  helped  fell  the  trees  and  clear  the  land  and  assisted 
in  organizing  the  township.  A  debt  of  gratitude  is  surely  laid  on  this  gener- 
ation to  him  and  others  like  him  who  have  been  pioneers  in  the  development  of 
Vermilion  County.  John  Snider  was  born  in  1797,  and  died  November  12, 
1849.  His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  Blount,  the  man  for  whom 
the  township  was  named,  survived  her  husband  for  several  years,  she  living 
until  in  the  seventies. 

DK.  ASA  PALMER. 

Dr.  Asa  Palmer  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  was  born  at  Coventry  in 
1786.  He  became  a  resident  of  Vermont  in  his  boyhood  days,  and  later  lived 
in  the  Black  River  country  of  New  York.  Subsequently  he  became  a  resident  of 
Moscow,  where  both  his  parents  died.  While  living  in  New  York  state,  Dr. 
Palmer  studied  medicine  and  practiced  a  little.  He  was  married  while  living  in 
New  York  state.  He  made  a  trip  to  the  west  in  search  of  a  location,  and  came 
here  to  live  in  1824.  His  first  trip  was  made  on  horseback,  but  when  he  came  to 
locate,  the  journey  was  made  by  boat,  going  first  to  Pittsburg  and  then  down  the 
Ohio  river  and  up  the  Wabash  river.  His  destination  was  the  Vermilion  river 
country  but  at  that  time  there  was  no  Danville  to  attract  him,  not  even  so  small  a 
settlement  at  this  place.  Dr.  Palmer  began  his  practice  in  this  section  and  for 
many  miles  around  the  settlements  from  the  Little  Vermilion  to  those  north  and 
west  of  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  River,  he  rode  in  his  prac- 
tice. After  Danville  became  the  county  seat,  his  home  was  there  and  his  practice 
was  over  a  broad  territory  from  that  point.  Eventually  he  gave  up  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  lived  retired.  In  connection  with  his  son  he  established  the 
first  drug  store  in  Danville.  He  was  a  leading  and  influential  citizen  of  this  sec- 
tion from  the  time  he  came  in  1824  to  his  death  in  1861.  Dr.  Palmer  was  mar- 
ried three  times,  his  third  wife  being  Adelia  Hawkins  and  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  of  Vermilion  County.  Dr.  Palmer  was  one  of  the  original  members  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  119 

the  Presbyterian  church  in  Danville.     He  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children  by 
his  first  wife  and  two  by  his  second  wife. 

HEZEKIAH   CUNNINGHAM. 

Hezekiah  Cunningham,  who  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Danville  at  an  early 
day,  was  born  in  Virginia,  whence  he  came  in  1819.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
mother  and  with  them  were  the  Murphy  family.  They  came  in  wagons,  it  taking 
them  seven  weeks  to  make  their  trip  to  the  North  Arm  in  Douglas  county.  At 
that  time  there  were  but  ten  families  in  .that  part  of  the  country.  In  1825  Mr. 
Cunningham  came  to  Vermilion  County,  following  Mr.  J.  B.  Alexander,  and  mar- 
ried his  daughter,  Mary.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cunningham  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  two  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  These  were  Mr.  W. 
T.  Cunningham,  who  was  well  and  favorably  known  and  the  daughter,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Judge  O.  L.  Davis.  In  1828  Mr.  Cunningham  moved  to  Dan- 
ville where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life.  While  a  resident  of  Danville  he 
was  interested  in  all  affairs  for  the  advancement  of  the  town.  His  name  is  writ- 
ten frequently  in  the  history  of  the  county.  He  built  the  storehouse  which  had 
a  hall  in  the  upper  story  where  meetings  of  all  kinds  were  held.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant for  many  years.  Mr.  Cunningham,  together  with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
J.  H.  Murphy,  were  men  of  public  spirit  and  to  them  there  is  much  of  the  pros- 
perity of  Danville  in  its  growing  years  due. 

ELI  HENDERSON. 

Mr.  Eli  Henderson  came  to  the  country  about  the  Little  Vermilion  in  1824 
and  brought  his  son,  Elam,  a  boy  of  about  fourteen,  with  him.  Mr.  Eli  Hender- 
son lived  in  this  community  until  his  death  in  1833.  Soon  after  the  death  of  his 
father,  Elam  Henderson  married  Mary  Golden  and  they  moved  to  Georgetown 
township,  where  they  accumulated  a  large  property. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  elected  to  the  office  of  County  Commissioner  in  1836. 
After  filling  this  office  three  years,  he  was  elected  associate  justice.  He  kept  this 
office  about  nine  years  or  until  the  county  went  under  township  organization. 
Mr.  Henderson  became  a  merchant  in  1853  and  continued  in  that  business  for 
more  than  twenty  years.  With  the  exception  of  two  years  he  was  supervisor  of 
his  township  from  1857  to  1873.  Mr.  Henderson  was  an  old  line  whig  up  to  the 
dissolution  of  that  party  after  which  he  was  a  staunch  republican.  He  was  con- 
nected with  the  Society  of  Friends,  as  was  his  father  before  him. 

JOHN    BROWN  ALEXANDER. 

It  was  while  yet  the  present  United  States  were  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain 
that  a  ship  crossed  the  Atlantic,  having  on  board  a  man  who  was  to  be  a  strong 
factor  in  the  making  of  Illinois.  This  man  was  John  B.  Alexander.  On  board 
the  same  vessel  was  another  young  man  who,  too  was  seeking  a  home  beyond  the 
sea  whose  posterity  was  destined  to  be  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  history  of  this 
section.  Beside  these  two  mien  there  was  a  family  whose  acquaintance  they  made 


120  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

on  the  passage.  The  family  consisted  of  at  least  two  daughters  and  a  son  of  a 
Scotchman  by  the  name  of  King.  The  acquaintance  which  might  have  been  of 
longer  standing  than  the  weeks  on  shipboard,  and  might  not,  ripened  into  ardent 
affection  on  the  part  of  young  Alexander  and  McDonald  toward  the  daughters 
of  Mr.  King.  The  result  of  this  or  rather  these  romances  was  that  both  the  young 
men,  Alexander  and  McDonald,  married  his  daughters.  Mr.  King  and  both 
John  B.  Alexander  and  Donald  McDonald,  located  in  Tennessee  and  there  re- 
mained for  some  time. 

In  due  course  of  time,  Donald  McDonald's  son,  Alexander  McDonald,  to- 
gether with  J.  B.  Alexander's  son,  came  to  the  then  new  state  of  Illinois.  Since 
the  wife  of  Alexander  McDonald,  was  Catherine  Alexander  (the  daughter  of 
Mr.  Alexander)  and  his  son  as  well  were  seeking  homes  in  the  new  country,  the 
father  came  with  them.  Mr.  McDonald  and  his  wife  came  on  to  the  attached 
part  of  Edgar  County,  soon  after  reaching  Illinois,  and  located  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Little  Vermilion,  but  Mr.  Alexander  and  his  son  located  in  Edgar 
County,  at  Paris.  There  they  remained  until  the  new  county  of  Vermilion  was 
formed  when  Mr.  Alexander  came  to  that  territory  and  had  much  to  do  in  put- 
ting the  machinery  of  the  new  county  in  working  order. 

Mr.  Alexander  was  a  man  particularly  fitted  to  do  this  work,  and  it  is  a  fortu- 
nate thing  that  he  was  willing  to  cast  his  lot  with  the  fortunes  of  the  new  county. 
He  was  the  first  commissioner  and  it  was  through  his  influence  doubtless  that 
Amos  Williams  was  brought  here  from  Edgar  County.  Mr.  Alexander  did  not 
come  into  this  wilderness  without  a  sacrifice.  His  was  of  a  nature  that  could  find 
expression  in  intercourse  with  men.  He  was  a  well  read  man  and  could  give  as 
well  as  find  pleasure  among  men  of  letters.  His  library  was  a  wonder,  and  his 
manners  were  far  from  those  of  the  pioneer.  A  memory  of  his  granddaughter 
that  she  cherishes  with  fondness  is,  when  she  was  a  girl  of  perhaps  nine  he  took 
the  trouble  to  take  into  his  private  room  and  unlocking  the  desk,  unwrapped  a 
book  which  he  showed  her,  telling  her  that  it  was  the  first  book  he  procured  for 
her  father,  Gen.  M.  R.  Alexander.  Then  he  carefully  wrapped  it  up  and  put  it 
away  in  the  desk  which  he  locked.  Mrs.  McMillen,  his  granddaughter,  goes  on 
to  say,  Grandfather  told  me  of  his  young  manhood,  he  was  but  a  boy  when  he  saw 
his  future  wife  on  ship  board,  near  Charlotte,  N.  C.  How  on  one  occasion  riding 
through  the  British  camp  on  his  way  with  a  sack  of  corn  on  his  horse  going  to 
mill  to  have  it  ground.  He  also  told  me  what  an  exciting  time  they  had  when  the 
whole  community  assembled  in  Charlotte  to  sign  and  ratify  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  May,  1775.  I  said,  "Grandpa,  were  you  a  democrat  then?" 
Throwing  his  hands  on  his  breast  he  said,  "Politics,  we  had  no  politics,  we  were 
patriots."  This  answer  and  earnestness  impressed  me  greatly.  I  thought  he 
was  the  grandest  man  I  ever  had  seen. 

WILLIAM    TRIMBELL. 

William  Trimbell  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1826,  riding  on  horseback. 
He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  who  also  rode  her  horse  all  the  way  from  Ken- 
tucky to  this  county.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  what  is  now  Pilot  town- 
ship. He  came  direct  from  Kentucky  but  was  born  and  raised  in  New  Orleans. 


HOME  OF  ENDS  CAMPBELL 
Drawn  and  photographed  by  his  son,  A.  R.  Campbell 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  121 

He  made  money  in  feeding  cattle  and  became  possessed  of  land  of  value.  Mrs. 
Trimbell  long  kept  the  dress  she  wore  on  her  trip  into  this  county  and  showed  it 
to  her  children  and  grandchildren.  It  was  made  of  some  wool  goods  which  she 
had  spun  and  woven  herself  and  had  dyed  a  blue  color.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trimbell 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children  all  but  two  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  and  had 
families  of  their  own.  Of  these  children  William,  the  eldest,  was  the  only  one 
not  born  in  this  county.  Elizabeth  became  the  wife  of  John  Vinson,  Sarah  be- 
came the  wife  of  Gentry  Williams,  Mary  became  the  wife  of  George  Brown  and 
Harvey  Piper  married  Rebecca,  the  youngest.  John  Trimbell  married  Clara 
Meade,  the  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Meade,  William  Trimbell,  Jr.,  married  Zella 
Outan  and  Paris  Trimbell  married  a  Miss  Cook.  When  William  Trimbell  took 
the  lone  ride  from  Kentucky,  with  his  wife,  who  carried  their  boy  on  the  horse 
with  her  the  country  was  rough  and  unsettled.  He  entered  land,  as  did  all  the 
early  settlers  near  a  stream  and  did  not  dare  go  outside  the  timber  to  build  his 
house,  but  stuck  to  the  timber  and  put  the  prairie  to  the  apparent  natural  use  as 
grazing  ground  for  the  cattle  which  brought  him  great  wealth.  When  his  daugh- 
ter married  he  gave  her  a  farm  on  the  prairie  that  her  husband  could  care  for  the 
stock.  .  ' 

AMOS  WILLIAMS. 

Amos  Williams,  one  of  the  most  prominent  annong  the  makers  of  Vermilion 
County,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  15,  1796.  He  came 
to  Illinois  in  '  After  going  to  he  settled  in  Paris  where 

he  was  clerk  of  the  court  and  surveyor.  It  was  Amos  Williams  who  surveyed 
Paris  and  platted  it.  When  in  1825,  the  newly  organized  county  of  Vermilion 
was  in  need  of  a  man  to  act  as  clerk,  J.  B.  Alexander  was  one  of  the  commission- 
ers and  much  depended  upon  him  to  set  the  machinery  going.  He  knew  the 
ability  of  this  young  man  and  at  once  took  steps  to  secure  his  services  for  Ver- 
milion county.  Mr.  Alexander  had,  until  quite  recently,  lived  in  Paris  where  his 
son,  at  that  time,  was  in  business,  but  his  sons-in-law  had  lived  in  this  part  of  the 
attached  territory  to  Edgar  County  and  he  had  kept  in  touch  with  the  needs  of  the 
territory.  He  knew  not  only  that  it  would  be  a  hard  matter  to  get  as  good  a 
clerk  as  Amos  Williams  made,  but  that  there  was  not  the  material  for  such  use  in 
this  section.  The  commissioners  sent  for  Mr.  Williams  to  change  his  residence. 
Amos  Williams  consented,  and  there  is  a  letter  in  the  possession  of  one  of  his 
grandsons  written  to  his  mother  just  before  he  left  Paris,  which  shows  with 
what  serious  thought  he  contemplated  the  change  of  location.  He  also  states 
that  he  had  just  married  the  daughter  of  Judge  Shaw,  of  Paris.  The  other 
daughter  of  Judge  Shaw  became  the  wife  of  Dan  Beckwith,  afterward.  Mr. 
Williams,  located  at  Butler's  Point,  that  being  the  place  where  the  Vermilion 
County  Court  was  held  until  a  county  seat  was  located.  Amos  Williams  became 
an  active  citizen  of  the  county  from  the  first.  He  assisted  in  surveying  the  coun- 
ty, locating  the  county  seat  and  he  built  the  first  house  in  Danville.  He  was  both 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court  and  judge  of  the  probate.  He  was  appointed  the  first 
postmaster  of  Danville  and  also  Notary  Public.  He  held  all  these  offices  without 
interruption  from  the  organization  of  the  county  until  1843,  and  some  of  them, 
until  1849 — a  period  of  twenty-three  years.  So  faithful  was  he  in  his  service 


122  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

that  many  thought  there  was  no  other  man  in  the  county  qualified  to  do  his  work. 
The  records  need  but  to  be  seen  to  show  his  proficiency  as  a  scribe.  Amos  Wil- 
liams was  anxious  for  all  measures  which  promised  the  betterment  of  Vermilion. 
County.  He  was  most  active  in  advancing  education  in  the  county  and  particu- 
larly in  Danville.  For  many  years  he  personally  owned  the  only  schoolhouse 
in  Danville,  which  he  had  built  for  that  purpose.  This  building  was  opened  to 
the  use  of  all  denominations  as  a  place  of  public  worship,  also  for  public  speak- 
ing, lyceums,  and  all  entertainments  of  an  educational  or  instructive  character, 
and  always  without  charge.  Although  in  public  office  for  so  long  a  time,  there 
was  never  a  charge  of  incompetency  or  questionable  business  methods  made.  He 
died  November  15,  1857,  and  was  buried  in  the  Williams  burying  ground.  When 
this  burying  ground  was  sold  to  the  city  that  a  street  might  be  extended  further 
east,  his  remains  were  removed  to  Spring  Hill  Cemetery. 

LEVI  BABB. 

Levi  Babb  was  born  in  Green  County,  Tenn.,  Dec.  26,  1788.  He  came  to  Ver- 
milion County,  in  October,  1826,  and  stopped  near  Yankee  Point  for  a  short 
time.  In  December  of  the  same  year  he  located  on  section  14,  range  n,  El  wood 
township.  He  remained  there  about  three  years  and  a  half,  entering  the  west 
half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  section  named,  where  he  built  the  house 
which  not  only  served  him  but  his  son  after  him  for  a  home.  During  the  time  of 
his  early  residence  in  Vermilion  County,  Mr.  Babb  entered  in  all  about  six  hun- 
dred acres  of  land.  The  Indians  had  their  camping  ground  about  the  house  he 
built.  There  has  been  much  evidence  of  this  particular  place  being  the  scene  of 
an  Indian  battle  in  the  long  ago  by  the  many  flint  arrow  heads  found  on  the 
grounds.  There  was  even  a  stone  axe  discovered  there  at  one  time. 

In  the  early  days  of  his  first  coming  Levi  Babb  was  obliged  to  go  to  Raccoon 
and  Sugar  creeks  to  mill.  He  endured  many  hardships  and  privations  as  did  all 
the  pioneers.  He  came  from  Tennessee  in  a  five  horse  wagon,  riding  a  distance 
of  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  He  became  a  fluent  speaker  of  the  language 
of  the  native  Indian  and  taught  the  son  of  the  chief  to  plow,  and  in  many  ways  en- 
deared himself  to  them,  and  made  them  his  friend  forever.  He  was  a  tireless 
worker  and  in  every  thing  that  pertained  to  his  farm  he  spared  no  pains  to  pro- 
cure the  best.  He  would  haul  his  produce  to  Chicago  and  return  with  salt  and 
groceries.  He  was  offered  forty  acres  of  land  where  Chicago  now  stands  for  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  but  he  thought  the  land  would  never  be  of  any  account  and  so 
refused  the  wonderful  bargain.  Mr.  Babb  was  married  twice  and  was  the 
father  of  thirteen  children.  He  died  March  23,  1872.  His  first  wife  was 
Susannah  Dillon,  and  his  second  wife  who  survived  him  less  than  a  year,  was  the 
daughter  of  Alexander  Prevo,  a  pioneer  of  Fountain  County,  Indiana. 

WILLIAM    WATSON. 

William  Watson  was  a  native  of  Nelson  County,  Kentucky,  and  he  went 
from  there  to  Harrison  County,  Indiana,  thence  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois, 
in  1826.  He  bought  land  and  developed  a  farm,  at  least  was  doing  what  he 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  123 

could,  when  three  years  later  he  died.  His  son  John  was  not  much  more  than 
a  boy,  but  boys  grew  up  quickly  in  those  days  of  responsibility,  and  John  Wat- 
son was  the  same  as  other  boys  and  early  took  a  man's  part.  He  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war  and  shared  all  the  privation  of  a  pioneer's  life.  His  capital 
of  determination  and  a  pair  of  good  strong  arms  and  willing  hands  was  worth 
more  than  money  would  have  been  at  that  time.  He  entered  and  bought  land 
until  he  owned  about  a  thousand  acres.  His  home  was  about  five  miles  north- 
east of  Danville.  He  remained  on  his  farm  until,  in  1873,  when  at  the  age  of 
sixty-three,  he  bought  residence  property  in  Danville  and  made  that  his  home  for 
twenty-five  years. 

MICHAEL    WEAVER. 

Michael  Weaver  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Maryland.  His  father 
died  while  yet  he  was  a  lad  and  his  mother  took  him  to  North  Carolina,  but 
he  ran  away  from  home  with  a  cattle  drover's  outfit  and  he  returned  to  Mary- 
land where  his  older  brothers  yet  were.  From  that  time  he  made  his 
way  in  the  world.  When  he  became  a  man  he  married  Elizabeth  Specard. 
of  Hagerstown,  and  about  a  year  later  they  moved  to  Pennsylvania.  They 
later  made  their  way  down  the  Ohio  to  Kentucky  where  Mr.  Weaver 
bought  a  farm  and  they  lived  here  for  three  years  when  they  crossed 
the  river  into  Clermont  County,  Ohio,  and  soon  afterward  went  to  Brown 
County  in  the  same  state.  He  remained  on  that  farm  for  ten  years  when 
he  put  his  wife  and  ten  children  in  a  big  covered  wagon  and  well  supplied 
with  provision  and  all  needed  for  a  new  home,  they  started  for  Sugar  Creek, 
Indiana.  He  did  not  like  this  location  when  he  reached  it,  however,  and  so 
went  on  beyond  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  He  settled  in  what  is  now  Car- 
roll township  and  entered  land  which  he  proceeded  to  improve.  He  had  to  go 
to  Palestine  to  enter  the  land.  The  Weaver  family  found  a  cabin  which  some- 
one else  had  built,  which  had  two  rooms  and  a  kitchen  built  on.  This  they 
made  do  until  they  could  get  something  better. 

A  part  of  Mr.  Weaver's  family  was  his  son-in-law  and  his  family.  They 
arrived  here  November  12,  1828.  Mr.  Weaver  was  a  man  of  a  high  sense  of 
honor  and  justice.  He  would  never  accept  more  than  six  per  cent  interest  for 
money  loaned,  nor  would  charge  or  take  more  than  twenty-five  cents  for  a 
bushel  of  corn.  He  declared  that  was  all  it  cost  to  raise  it.  He  was  very  be- 
nevolent and  always  had  his  house  open  for  any  one.  Nothing  pleased  him  more 
than  to  help  those  who  tried  to  help  themselves.  Mr.  Weaver  lived  to  be  more 
than  one  hundred  years  old  and  in  his  old  age  he  was  a  man  of  great  wealth. 
He  was  the  father  of  seven  children  who  married  into  the  families  of  the  prom- 
inent settlers  and  settled  in  the  neighborhood  so  that  many  in  that  part  of  the 
county  are  direct  descendants. 

ABEL    WILLIAMS. 

Abel  Williams  came  into  this  county  in  1826,  bringing  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren. They  came  from  Tennessee,  his  father  having  gone  there  from  North 
Carolina.  He  and  his  wife  were  both  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


124  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

church  and  when  he  came  here  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  build  a  place  of 
worship.  He  did  it  without  help  from  any  one  until  it  was  almost  completed. 
It  was  the  first  house  of  worship  ever  built  in  Carroll  township.  It  was  built 
about  a  mile  southwest  of  Indianola,  and  was  the  center  of  Methodism  for  many 
years  and  several  counties.  Mr.  Williams  was  the  first  advocate  of  "total  absti- 
nence" in  Vermilion  County.  When  he  first  came  there  was  not  a  man  but  who 
drank  more  or  less  intoxicating  liquor.  The  church  members  were  no  exception. 
When  Abel  Williams  began  to  advocate  "teetotalism,"  as  it  was  called,  he  made 
many  enemies  as  may  be  supposed.  He  lived,  however,  to  see  intemperance  dis- 
counted in  the  church  and  public  sentiment  banish  it  from  the  best  society. 

Abel  Williams  was  the  second  justice  of  the  peace  and  held  the  office  twelve 
years.  It  was  well  known  that  he  would  not  issue  papers  for  law  suits  until  he 
had  exhausted  every  means  of  other  settlement.  His  decisions  were  always  sus- 
tained by  the  higher  courts.  Abel  Williams  came  of  Quaker  stock. 

SAMUEL   GILBERT   AND  SONS,   AND  SOLOMON    GILBERT. 

The  family  of  Gilberts  are  well  considered  together,  since  all  of  them  were 
more  or  less  great  factors  in  the  making  of  Vermilion  County.  Samuel  Gilbert, 
with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  three  sons,  Alvan,  James  and  Elias, 
came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Ontario  County,  New  York,  in  1826.  They  had 
really  come  west  the  previous  year  but  stopped  in  Crawford  County  until  this 
time.  When  they  came  to  Vermilion  County  they  settled  two  miles  south  of  Dan- 
ville. There  was,  at  that  time,  no  town  in  the  county  containing  more  than  fifty 
white  families.  The  nearest  mill  was  at  Eugene.  The  great  need  of  this  section 
was  a  mill  and  in  1831,  Mr.  Solomon  Gilbert,  the  brother  of  Samuel  came  from 
the  east  and  put  up  one  at  near  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Big  Vermilion. 
Another  brother,  Jesse,  established  a  ferry  across  the  Vermilion  river,  a  much 
needed  improvement. 

Mr.  Samuel  Gilbert  lived  in  Danville  until  1839,  when  he  went  to  Ross  town- 
ship and  there  was  made  the  first  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  also  the  first  post- 
master, serving  in  this  office  for  twenty  years.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  for 
ten  years.  Mr.  Gilbert's  wife  died  the  year  he  moved  from  Danville,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Williams'  burying  ground.  Mr.  Gilbert  afterward  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  (Dougherty)  Ferrier,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Vance  township.  Mr.  Samuel  Gilbert  lived  to  be  seventy-two  years  old.  He 
died  and  was  buried  in  the  Williams'  burying  ground. 

Alvan  Gilbert,  the  oldest  son  of  Samuel  Gilbert,  was  fifteen  years  old  when 
he  came  to  Vermilion  County.  He  spent  the  first  years  after  coming  here  in  the 
work  provided  by  the  many  interests  of  his  father  and  uncles.  In  1831  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Matilda  Horr  and  the  following  year  he  went  with  his  father  to  Ross 
township,  where  his  father-in-law  owned  land.  Mr.  Gilbert  bought  a  small  farm 
of  his  father-in-law  which  he  afterward  enlarged  to  240  acres.  This  farm  he 
afterward  sold  to  his  father  and  brother  James,  and  bought  another  farm  of  his 
uncle  Solomon.  This  later  farm  included  the  northern  limits  of  Rossville.  He 
lived  her  about  three  years  when  he  again  sold  and  bought  another  farm  of  Mr. 
Leg-gitt  which  included  a  part  of  the  southern  limits  of  Rossville.  He  traded 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  125 

extensively  in  real  estate  and  personal  property,  and  it  has  been  claimed  that  dur- 
ing his  life  he  had  more  deeds  recorded  than  any  other  man  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Gilbert's  first  wife  died  in  1840,  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  afterward 
married  George  C.  Dickson  and  the  other  became  the  wife  of  Frederick  Grooms. 
Mr.  Alvan  Gilbert  served  as  Supervisor  of  his  township  for  many  years,  being 
president  of  the  Board  for  a  part  of  the  time.  Upon  the  adoption  of  the  town- 
ship organization  he  was  one  of  the  three  commissioners  appointed  to  divide  the 
county  into  townships.  He  was  also  one  of  the  three  commissioners  appointed 
to  divide  the  swamp  lands  between  this  county  and  Ford,  when  Vermilion  lost 
that  territory.  Mr.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lamm  represented  the  old  county  and  Judge 
Patton,  the  new  one.  He  had  Judge  (Guy)  Merrill  and  John  Canaday  as  asso- 
ciates in  the  act  of  making  the  division  of  the  county  into  townships.  The  three 
who  divided  the  swamp  lands  were  about  three  months  in  making  the  division. 
Mr.  Alvan  Gilbert's  second  wife  was  Nancy  (Horr)  Elzy. 

SAMUEL    BAUM. 

Samuel  Baum  came  to  Vermilion  County  at  the  same  time  as  his  father-in- 
law,  Michael  Weaver,  and  settled  on  the  Little  Vermilion.  His  brother  Charles 
came  nine  years  later  and  together  they  became  the  founders  of  the  family  of 
that  name  of  whom  there  have  been  many  in  Vermilion  County.  Samuel  mar- 
ried Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Michael  Weaver,  while  they  were  in  Ohio  and  had  a 
family  of  two  children  when  he  came  west.  After  coming  to  Illinois  there  were 
six  more  children  born  to  them.  Sarah  (Weaver)  Baum  died  and  Samuel  Baum 
married  Mrs.  Polly  Matkins,  the  widow  of  William  Matkins,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  four  children.  Samuel  Baum  was  a  large,  powerful  man,  six  feet 
one  inch  in  height,  and  weighed  three  hundred  pounds.  He  was  jovial  and  good 
hearted,  always  a  good  tempered  man.  He  took  the  first  produce  he  raised  in 
Vermilion  County  to  Chicago,  driving  five  yoke  of  oxen.  His  sole  possession 
when  he  came  to  Illinois  was  a  horse,  a  bridle  and  a  saddle,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1861  he  was  the  owner  of  1,500  acres  of  well  cultivated  land,  besides 
personal  property.  He  belonged  to  the  Republican  party  and  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-six.  His  brother,  Charles  Baum,  who  came  to  this  county  some  years  after 
took  up  1 60  acres  of  land  from  the  government,  and  made  later  purchases  until, 
at  one  time,  he  owned  1,660  acres,  besides  the  200  acres  that  was  the  gift  to  his 
wife  from  her  father.  Charles  Baum  was  married  three  years  after  coming  to 
Vermilion  County  to  Miss  Catherine  Weaver,  who  was  the  fourth  daughter  and 
sixth  child  of  Michael  Weaver.  Mrs.  Baum  was  born  in  Clermont  County,  Ohio, 
and  came  to  Illinois  at  the  same  time  as  her  father,  she  being  but  eight  years  old 
at  the  time.  Mr.  Baum  lived  on  his  home  farm  which  his  wife's  father  gave  her. 

JOHN   LARRANCE. 

John  Larrance  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  but  he  came  to  the  Little  Ver- 
milion directly  from  Tennessee  in  1827.  He  had  his  choice  of  almost  the  whole 
of  Vermilion  County  at  that  time  and  he  made  a  good  one.  He  entered  240  acres 
of  land,  paying  the  government  price,  and  thereon  built  a  cabin  made  of  round 


126  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

logs.  It  had  but  one  room  and  was  not  at  all  luxurious.  The  floor  was  logs  split 
in  two  with  the  flat  side  up,  a  clapboard  roof  and  doors  of  the  same  material. 
They  lived  happily  for  one  year  in  this  house  and  were  determined  to  make  a 
comfortable  home  of  it  in  spite  of  inconveniences.  For  nine  years  Mr.  Lar- 
rance's  wife  cooked  all  the  meals  on  the  fireplace,  using  a  long  handled  skillet 
and  a  brick  bake  oven.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  went  to  Chicago  for  some  pur- 
pose and  brought  back  a  cook  stove.  This  was  the  first  one  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  was  a  great  curiosity.  The  maiden  name  of  Mrs.  Larrance  was  Ruth  Mills, 
she  being  the  daughter  of  John  Mills.  She  was  the  mother  of  nine  children. 

Mr.  Larrance's  oldest  son  was  nearly  ten  years  old  when  they  came  from 
Tennessee,  and  he  soon  grew  to  take  his  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  His 
education  in  books  was  had  in  the  old  school-house  with  greased  paper  for  win- 
dows, stick  and  clay  chimney,  slab  benches  and  wall  desks,  of  the  pioneer  days  of 
Illinois.  The  school  course  was  limited  to  two  or  three  months  in  the  winter. 
Moses  Larrance  married  Nancy,  the  daughter  of  Aaron  Mendenhall.  Mr.  Men- 
denhall had  been  living  in  this  part  of  Vermilion  County  for  three  years  when 
Mr.  Larrance  came  from  the  same  place  in  Tennessee.  Mr.  Mendenhall  owned 
the  same  farm  that  Silas  Baird  later  purchased.  Mr.  Moses  Larrance  was  the 
father  of  thirteen  children,  who  have  married  among  the  children  of  the  early 
settlers  until  they  are  related  to  many.  He  and  his  household  have,  as  had  his 
father  before  him,  been  strong  supporters  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

WILLIAM    CURRENT. 

William  Current  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1827  and  settled  five  miles 
northeast  of  Danville  in  Newell  township.  He  was  a  man  of  twenty-four  and 
his  wife,  hardly  more  than  a  girl,  being  but  twenty,  yet  having  been  married  five 
or  six  years.  They  came  from  Pennsylvania  and  endured  the  common  trials  of 
pioneer  life.  Mr.  Current  secured  a  good  tract  of  land  and  built  up  a  fine  home- 
stead. The  family  came  in  time  to  experience  the  suffering  of  the  winter  of  the 
deep  snow.  Mr.  Current  volunteered  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  and  served  until 
discharged  with  the  other  troops.  William  Current  was  the  father  of  thirteen 
children  and  died  in  1851  at  the  comparative  early  age  of  forty-three.  His  wife 
survived  him,  remaining  a  widow  for  thirty-three  years.  She  died  in  1884. 

ANDREW   PATTERSON. 

Andrew  Patterson  brought  his  family  to  Vermilion  County  in  1827  from 
East  Tennessee.  He  was  a  native  of  Granger  County,  East  Tennessee,  as  was 
also  his  son  William  who  was  at  that  time  three  years  old.  Andrew  Patterson 
settled  his  family  at  Yankee  Point  among  Indians  and  wild  animals.  Like  all  the 
pioneers  they  settled  in  the  timber,  thinking  the  prairie  could  never  be  used  for 
anything  but  grazing. 

William  Golden,  the  father-in-law  of  Andrew  Patterson,  had  come  to  the 
Little  Vermilion  country  three  years  before  this  date  and  located  at  Yankee  Point. 
Mr.  Golden  later  had  the  distinction  of  having  the  first  frame  house  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  was  not  only  a  frame  house,  but  it  was  painted.  His  grandson,  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  127 

son  of  Mr.  Patterson,  tells  about  this  house  which  he  recalls  distinctly.  It  was 
two  rooms  long  and  one  room  deep,  and  painted  red.  Mr.  Golden's  half  brother, 
Tom  Whitlock,  painted  it,  using  a  brush  as  any  one  would  do  today.  There  is 
no  doubt  the  strongest  ties  were  between  William  Golden  and  his  daughter 
Amelia,  who  became  the  wife  of  Andrew  Patterson,  and  followed  her  father  to 
Illinois.  Her  oldest  son  was  named  William  and  her  youngest  one  was  named 
Golden,  both  bearing  the  name  of  her  father.  Andrew  Patterson  was  the  father 
of  six  children.  William  Patterson,  the  oldest  son  of  Andrew  Patterson,  grew 
up  in  Elwood  township  and  married  the  daughter  of  Eli  Patty,  in  1853.  He  was 
born  February  2.2,  1824,  in  Granger  County,  East  Tennessee. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patterson  are  the  parents  of  seven  children  of  whom  four  are 
yet  living.  Mr.  Patterson  has  been  a  resident  of  Elwood  township  ever  since 
1827,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  shortly  after  his  marriage,  when  he  im- 
proved a  fine  farm  at  Broadlands  in;  the  southwestern  part  of  Champaign  County. 

SAMUEL    COPELAND. 

Samuel  Copeland  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  settlers  of  Blount 
township.  He  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1827.  The  family  made  the  journey 
from  Ohio  in  a  keelboat  down  the  Ohio  river  and  up  the  Wabash  river  to  Perrys- 
ville,  Indiana.  Mr.  Copeland  made  the  boat  himself  and  brought  not  only  the 
household  goods  but  also  a  boat  load  of  salt.  Out  of  the  sale  of  the  salt  he  made 
his  start  in  the  new  life.  He  sold  the  salt  at  Perrysville  and  hired  a  man  to  haul 
his  household  goods  and  family  seven  miles  northwest  of  Danville,  where  he 
entered  eighty  acres  of  land,  part  timber  and  part  prairie.  His  first  house  was 
made  by  laying  one  pole  from  one  tree  to  another  about  ten  feet  apart  on  a  fork 
in  either  tree,  against  which  poles  and  rails  were  leaned  on  each  side  for  a  roof. 
In  that  tent  they  lived  until  they  could  build  a  log  house.  He  had  brought  a  load 
of  planks  with  him  from  Ohio.  These  planks  he  put  on  the  ground  for  a  floor  and 
bed  and  began  hewing  rails.  As  soon  as  he  could  get  enough  rails  he  sent  word 
to  the  State  Line  for  help  to  raise  the  house.  Such  a  labor  always  took  the  entire 
neighborhood  and  in  his  case  other  neighborhoods  had  to  be  called  upon  for  help. 
All  that  was  necessary  in  the  case  of  a  house  to  raise  was  a  notice  sent;  every 
man  took  it  for  granted  that  he  must  go  and  it  was  never  thought  that  the  man 
whose  house  was  being  built  should  offer  wages  for  the  help.  Such  as  that  would 
be  considered  an  insult.  Steady  work  and  willing  effort  soon  conquers  any  ob- 
stacle, so  it  was  on  this  farm.  After  getting  the  first  eighty  acres  into  cultiva- 
tion, Mr.  Copeland  would  buy  more  land  and  improve  it  until  he  had  increased 
his  farm  to  a  great  extent. 

LARKIN    COOK. 

Larkin  Cook  was  born  and  married  in  Ohio,  where  they  lived  on  a  farm  for 
some  time  before  going  to  Indiana.  In  1887  they  again  moved,  this  time  coming 
to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  Mr.  Cook  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity.  He  was 
cordial  and  hospitable  and  his  wife  was  particularly  fond  of  company.  Their 


128  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

home  in  Vermilion  County  was  a  happy  place  to  visit.  They  were,  with  their 
families  much  in  demand  at  merrymakings.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren. 

ANDREW  JUVINALL. 

Andrew  and  Mary  (James)  Juvinall  cast  their  lot  in  with  the  white  settlers  of 
Vermilion  County  at  an  early  day,  coming  in  1827.  They  were  both  natives  of 
Ohio  and  made  their  new  home  in  Pilot  township. 

SAMUEL  SCONCE. 

Samuel  Sconce  was  born  in  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  in  1802,  and  there 
they  had  all  the  trials  of  pioneer  life,  so  that  the  change  to  the  new  country  along 
the  Vermilion  river  was  not  the  place  of  hardship  it  might  have  been  to  one  from 
more  densely  populated  section.  He  left  his  old  home  in  1828,  and  made  his 
permanent  settlement  in  Vermilion  County  the  following  year.  The  year  fol- 
lowing this,  Nancy  Waters,  who  had  come  to  Vermilion  County  with  her  father 
from  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  the  old  home  of  Mr.  Sconce,  and  located  in 
Brooks'  Point,  became  his  wife.  For  a  few  years  this  young  couple  lived  in 
Brooks'  Point  and  Mr.  Sconce  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  but  later  he 
became  a  merchant  in  Indianola,  under  the  firm  name  of  Bailey  &  Sconce.  He 
was  very  successful  in  this  business  but  after  the  building  burned  he  retired  from 
business  life.  Mr.  Sconce  died  in  1874  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  and  his 
widow  survived  him  until  1897  when  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine. 

WILLIAM    JONES. 

William  Jones  and  his  wife  were  both  born  in  Harrison  County,  Kentucky, 
where  they  were  married  and  lived  for  the  first  dozen  years  of  being  together. 
In  1828  they,  with  their  family  of  six  children,  cast  their  fortunes  with  the 
pioneers  of  Vermilion  County,  locating  near  Danville  in  Danville  township. 
They  lived  for  a  short  time  on  section  16  and  then  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  on 
section  n.  It  was  heavily  timbered  and  the  family  lived  in  a  rail-pen  for  a  time 
until  a  log  house  could  be  built.  Mr.  Jones  improved  a  part  of  his  land  and  then 
moved  to  another  part  of  the  township.  He  died  October  30,  1859.  He  was  a 
faithful  soul  receiving  the  well-earned  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  His  wife 
survived  him  eight  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children.  Of  these 
one  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Sallee,  of  Oakwood  township  and  another  became 
the  wife  of  Dennis  Olehy. 

WILLIAM   WRIGHT. 

In  1828  William  Wright  with  his  family  came  to  this  county,  coming  directly 
from  Rush  County,  Indiana.  At  that  time  there  were  but  three  children.  They 
had  not  been  living  in  Indiana  more  than  one  year,  having  gone  there  from 
Kentucky.  The  first  settlement  made  was  three  miles  north  of  Danville.  At  the 
time  of  his  location  here  there  were  not  many  families  in  Danville,  it  was  so 
recently  made  a  town.  The  land  was  not  yet  in  the  market,  and  settlements  were 


SWORD   CARRIED  BY  DAN  BECKWITH    (THE  MAN   FOR  WHOM  DANVILLE 

WAS  NAMED)   IN  THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR.     NOW  OWNED  BY  HIS 

GREAT  GRANDSON,  DAN  BECKWITH,  DANVILLE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  129 

not  attempted.  He,  however,  ventured  to  settle  in  the  timber,  having  the  univer- 
sal mistrust  of  the  prairie.  He  built  his  house  of  logs  and  the  chimney  was  con- 
structed of  a  substance  called  stone-coal,  which  was  thought  to  be  fire-proof. 
This  was  a  mistake,  however,  for  the  fire  was  no  sooner  built  than  the  chimney 
began  to  burn  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  cabin  was  saved. 

The  little  log  house  was  soon  surrounded  by  a  well  cultivated  farm  and  in 
time  a  neat  and  comfortable  house  was  built.  During  this  time  the  village  of 
Denmark  had  been  growing.  Because  of  the  disadvantages  of  living  so  near  this 
rough  frontier  town,  Mr.  Wright  sold  his  farm  and  moved  to  Danville  township. 
Here  he  spent  his  last  days.  He  died  in  1845.  His  wife  survived  him  by  thirty- 
six  years. 

JAMES  GRAVES. 

James  Graves  and  his  wife  were  both  natives  of  Kentucky.  He  showed  rare 
soldierly  qualities  in  the  war  of  1812  and  made  General  Harrison  his  personal 
friend.  Mr.  Graves  and  his  family  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1828.  He  had 
made  a  trip  previous  to  this  time  in  company  with  Isaac  Sandusky,  and  both  took 
up  land  in  Vermilion  County  about  a  half  mile  apart.  They  brought  their  families 
in  1828  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  the  Graves  settled  on  their  new  land. 
Mr.  Graves  prospered  and  became  the  owner  of  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
Georgetown  township.  Mr.  Graves  was  a  cabinet-maker  by  trade  and  he  fol- 
lowed that  for  a  dozen  years  after  he  came  to  Vermilion  County.  After  that 
time  however,  he  practically  abandoned  it,  and  turned  his  attention  to  farming. 
Mr.  Graves  lived  on  his  farm  until  1857,  when  he  died.  His  wife  survived  him 
thirty  years,  remaining  a  widow  until  her  death  in  1887. 

JAMES    BARNETT. 

James  Barnett  was  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  settled  in  Vermilion  County  in 
1828.  He  was  married  twice,  the  first  time  to  Miss  Conway  and  the  second  time 
to  Rosa  Neil.  He  owned  about  six  hundred  acres  of  land  near  Indianola  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  farmers  in  that  part  of  the  country.  His  ancestors  were 
from  Ireland  and  when  they  came  to  America  they  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
James  Barnett,  Sr.,  died  in  1866. 

ANDREW    MAKEMSON. 

Andrew  Makemson  was  a  resident  of  Kentucky  until,  in  1828,  he  with  his 
wife  and  family,  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  to  make  their  future  home 
in  Newell  township.  Mr.  Makemson  was  a  stalwart  Republican  and  both  he 
and  his  wife  were  good  members  of  the  Methodist  church  and  were  highly 
esteemed  for  their  honesty  and  sterling  qualities.  Mr.  Makemson  died  in  1880 
and  his  wife  in  1889.  They  were  both  buried  in  the  Lamm  cemetery. 

JOHN    CHANDEER. 

John  Chandler,  like  so  many  of  the  pioneers  of  Vermilion  County,  was  a 
native  of  the  "Blue  Grass  state,"  where  he  lived  until  he  had  reached  man- 
hood's estate,  and  in  1828  determined  to  go  into  the  state  of  Illinois.  Making 


130  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

their  way  to  this  county  they  located  on  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  Newell  township 
where  he  tilled  the  soil  and  made  such  improvements  as  to  sell  it  to  a  profit 
in  1853  and  take  up  his  residence  in  Danville.  Mr.  Chandler  lived  in  Danville 
until  he  died  in  1859.  His  wife  died  before  he  left  the  farm. 

ABSOLOM    COLLISON. 

Absolom  Collison  was  a  native  of  Pike  County,  Ohio,  and  in  1828  came  to 
Illinois.  He  entered  forty  acres  of  land  from  the  government  and  began  the 
development  of  a  farm.  So  well  did  he  succeed  that  he  became  a  land  owner 
well  known.  He  married  Mary  Chenoweth,  who  was  born  near  Columbus, 
Ohio,  but  came  to  Illinois  with  her  father.  Mr.  Collison  was  the  father  of 
seven  children  who  have  been  conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of  Vermilion  County. 
He  died  in  1849.  His  widow  afterward  married  John  Smith. 

JOSEPH  SMITH. 

Joseph  Smith  was  a  native  of  East  Tennessee  and  lived  there  until,  in  1828, 
when  he  with  his  family  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  It  had  been  but 
ten  years  since  Illinois  had  become  a  state  and  but  three  years  since  Vermilion 
County  had  been  created.  Joseph  Smith  took  up  his  abode  in  Georgetown  town- 
ship and  improved  a  farm  there  upon  which  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of 
his  life.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-three  in  this  home. 

SAMUEL    CAMPBELL. 

Samuel  Campbell  came  to  Vermilion  County  about  1828,  settling  on  section 
26,  Newell  township.  He  made  his  journey  from  Seneca  County,  New  York, 
overland  in  a  covered  wagon.  He  first  stopped  in  Ohio  and  waited  while  some 
of  his  sons  came  ahead  to  Vermilion  County,  following  them  later.  They  lived 
at  first  in  a  little  cabin  surrounded  by  Indian  neighbors.  There  they  underwent 
all  the  hardships  and  trials  incident  to  the  establishing  of  a  home  on  the  frontier. 
Later  the  log  cabin  was  replaced  by  a  modern  house  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Camp- 
bell spent  their  last  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children.  After  the 
death  of  his  father  the  youngest  son  bought  the  interests  of  the  others  and 
carried  on  the  farm  until  his  death  in  1855,  when  he  was  but  forty-one  years 
old. 

OTHO  ALLISON. 

Otho  Allison  was  a  resident  of  Harrison  County,  Kentucky,  until  he  came  to 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  in  1826,  where  he  stayed  two  years  and  then  came  to  Vermilion 
County,  Illinois.  He  was  a  miller  as  well  as  a  farmer.  Upon  coming  to  the 
county  Mr.  Allison  entered  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  five  miles 
from  Danville,  in  Newell  township.  This  included  eighty  acres  of  prairie  and 
forty  acres  of  timber  land,  and  it  was  in  a  raw  state;  not  a  bit  of  improvement 
had  ever  been  made.  During  his  boyhood  days,  Alfred  Allison  went  with  his 
father,  Otho  Allison,  to  Chicago,  and  saw  the  Indians  paid  off  after  the  Black 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  131 

Hawk  war.  His  father  also  showed  him  the  first  brick  building  ever  put  up  in 
that  city.  Otho  Allison  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children,  eleven  sons  and 
two  daughters. 

.       JAMES   DONOVAN. 

When  James  Donovan  was  a  youth  of  sixteen  years  he  served  in  the  regular 
army  under  Gen.  Jackson,  as  private  in  a  Kentucky  company.  Returning  to  his 
home  in  Bourbon  county,  he  settled  down  and  after  awhile  married  Mary  Perkins. 
In  1828  they  moved  to  Vermilion  County.  He  was  employed  in  the  salt  works 
for  a  time  and  afterward  he  hauled  produce  to  Chicago  and  took  charge  of  the 
same  down  the  river  to  New  Orleans.  He  had  a  life  of  hardship  and  died 
when  he  was  about  sixty  years  old.  Mrs.  Donovan  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six 
years.  They  were  the  parents  of  fifteen  children. 

WILLIAM    BANDY. 

William  Bandy  was  a  prominent  citizen  in  the  affairs  of  Vermilion  County 
at  an  early  day.  He  was  born  in  Bedford  County,  Va.,  and  when  a  boy  of  sixteen 
came  to  Vermilion  County,  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  William  and 
Washington  Bandy  came  with  their  foster  parents,  making  the  trip  in  a  four- 
horse  team  wagon,  taking  thirty-six  days  to  come  from  their  old  home  to  Dan- 
ville, Illinois.  The  wagon  was  filled  with  household  effects  and  provisions,  leaving 
but  room  for  the  family.  In  it  their  beds  were  made  at  night  and  they  took  their 
meals  by  the  side  of  the  road.  When  they  reached  Danville,  December  13,  1828, 
there  were  but  nine  families  living  here.  There  was  no  cabin  for  them  to  rent, 
while  they  were  providing  a  shelter,  but  they  at  last  succeeded  in  securing  a 
temporary  abiding  place  in  a  log  house  which  already  contained  two  families. 
This  building  was  16x16  feet,  and  stood  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  square 
upon  the  present  site  of  the  First  National  Bank.  Mr.  Howell,  the  foster  father 
of  William  and  Washington  Bandy,  kept  his  family  in  this  house  until  spring, 
because  he  could  do  no  better. 

The  land  office  was  at  that  time  located  at  Palestine,  ninety  miles  away. 
Mr.  Howell  went  there  right  away  to  enter  or  purchase  land,  but  could  not  do  so 
because  the  officer  in  charge  would  not  take  the  Virginia  money  which  he  offered 
in  payment.  After  some  delay,  this  difficulty  was  overcome  and  he  entered  480 
acres  of  land.  He  put  four  cabins  up  on  this  land,  the  principal  one  being  that 
which  was  located  one  mile  southeast  of  the  public  square.  This  house  was  made 
of  rough  logs  with  a  puncheon  floor,  two  windows  and  a  door,  with  greased  paper 
for  use  in  the  windows  in  the  place  of  glass.  The  building  was  16  ft.  by  18  ft. 
and  boasted  window  shutters  of  rived  boards.  An  opening  was  made  in  the  logs 
eight  feet  wide,  and  built  out  three  feet,  and  this  was  lined  with  earth  for  a  fire- 
place. The  chimney  was  built  outside  six  feet  high  and  covered  with  mortar. 
This  rude  contrivance  lasted  for  years  and  furnished  enough  heat  for  cooking  and 
warming  of  the  building  in  the  winter. 

The  furniture  was  equally  crude  and  homely.  The  bedstead  was  made  of 
riven  boards  and  set  on  wooden  legs;  the  table  was  made  in  a  like  manner, 
only  the  legs  were  made  higher.  The  family  had  brought  two  chairs  which 


132  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

were  given  to  the  father  and  mother  and  the  boys  had  to  make  stools  for  them- 
selves to  sit  on.  A  tick  was  made  which  was  filled  with  straw  and  another 
filled  with  feathers,  and  put  on  the  bed.  While  game  was  plenty,  and  the  family 
never  lacked  for  meat,  the  groceries  had  to  be  brought  in  from  Terre  Haute 
and  sometimes  failed  to  be  as  plenty.  After  the  cabin  was  built,  water  had  to 
be  carried  300  yards,  until  a  well  could  be  dug.  Mr.  Howell  made  a  contract 
to  get  out  10,000  black  walnut  rails  at  twenty-five  cents  per  hundred,  and  in 
the  meanwhile  he  and  the  boys  carried  on  the  improvement  of  the  farm.  They 
broke  the  first  timber  land  about  Danville  and  raised  some  very  fine  corn  which 
they  were  obliged  to  feed  to  their  swine  and  sell  the  pork  at  from  $1.00  to  $1.50 
per  hundred.  There  was  no  market  for  the  corn.  The  wage  of  a  day's  work 
was  equal  to  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  salt  pork  or  eight  bushels  of  corn,  or,  from 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  to  fifty  cents  in  cash,  and  only  the  extra  good  workmen 
could  command  that  price.  William  Bandy  remained  a  member  of  this  home 
until  he  was  nineteen  years  old  when  he  went  into  the  Black  Hawk  war  in 
Colonel  I.  R.  Moore's  regiment  with  Captain  J.  Palmer. 

This  regiment  went  first  to  Joliet  to  build  a  fort.  Thence  they  went  to  Ot- 
tawa, and  yet  later  William  Bandy  joined  the  United  States  Mounted  Rangers, 
which  comprised  six  companies.  They  found  the  dread  scourge  of  cholera  at 
Rock  Island  and  many  fell  victims  to  it.  This  company  finally  returned  and 
wintered  southeast  of  Danville  until  in  January  they  were  ordered  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Illinois  river,  but  there  being  no  need  of  their  further  service  they 
came  back  to  their  camp.  They  remained  ready  for  duty  all  summer,  recon- 
noitering  in  different  sections  until,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  they  were  discharged. 

Mr.  Bandy,  in  company  with  Mr.  Howell,  began  work  as  a  carpenter,  and 
that  year  built  a  house  on  what  was  called  Sulphur  Springs  Place,  about  one 
mile  southeast  of  the  court  house.  In  the  following  spring  they  built  a  flat  boat 
upon  which  Mr.  Bandy  loaded  great  quantities  of  pork  and  took  it  to  New 
Orleans.  When  he  reached  his  destination  he  found  an  epidemic  of  cholera, 
and  he  waited  only  to  sell  enough  to  pay  expenses  when  he  came  home,  having 
left  the  rest  of  his  pork  to  be  sold  by  others.  Two  years  later  he  had  a  letter 
from  the  man  who  undertook  the  sale,  stating  that  it  was  all  sold,  and  enclosing 
the  price  thereof  in  a  draft  on  a  Louisville  bank. 

Mr.  Bandy  built  another  boat  and  took  another  load  of  produce  down  the 
rivers,  and  continued  these  trips  year  after  year  excepting  in  the  time  of  the 
Mexican  war,  when  he  abandoned  the  river  until  after  its  close. 

Later  he  furnished  the  Illinois  Canal  company  with  packet  horses  and  also 
was  a  merchant  in  partnership  with  his  father-in-law,  William  Murphy.  He 
later  had  a  hardware  store,  conducting  the  largest  business  of  this  kind  in  the 
county,  for  years.  He  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the  real  estate  business. 
His  first  residence  was  on  North  street,  east  of  Vermilion,  where  he  had  a  half 
acre  of  ground.  He  was  appointed  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to  make  the 
slack  water  of  the  Vermilion  river,  in  1835,  but  did  not  see  it  practical;  later 
he  was  appointed  marshal  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Illinois,  but  there  being 
nothing  which  appealed  to  him  in  the  office,  he  withdrew. 

Mr.  Bandy  represented  his  township  two  terms  as  supervisor ;  he  also  served 
the  city  as  president  of  the  city  council  and  as  alderman.  Mr.  Bandy  married 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  133 

Miss  Harrie  J.  Murphy,  in  1833.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children. 
Mrs.  Bandy  died  in  1872,  and  nine  years  later  he  married  Mrs.  Deborah  (King) 
Johnson. 

JAMES    SMITH. 

James  Smith  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first  man  to  settle  in  Vance 
township.  He  came  from  Ohio,  where  he  was  a  farmer,  and  entered  eight  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  Vermilion  County  in  this  section.  During  his  life  he  im- 
proved all  this  land  and  gave  each  of  his  children  a  portion  before  he  died. 
He  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829  and  lived  here  until  his  death  in  1872. 
His  wife  died  ten  years  before  him. 

WILLIAM    BLAKENEY. 

William  Blakeney  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  his  wife  Susan  (Ellis) 
Blankeney,  was  born  in  Greene  County,  Ohio.  Susan  Ellis  came  to  Vermilion 
County  with  her  father  about  1821,  but  Mr.  Blakeney  came  in  1829.  He  came 
to  Illinois  earlier  than  this  but  did  not  locate  in  Vermilion  County  for  some 
time  after  he  left  Ohio.  He  traveled  over  the  state  on  foot,  visiting  the  lead 
mines  at  Galena.  He  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  in  1832,  three  years  after 
coming  to  Vermilion  County.  Physically,  William  Blakeney  was  a  splendid 
speciment  of  manhood.  He  was  tall,  had  a  powerful  frame  and  was  very  active. 
He  was  acknowledged  the  strongest  man  west  of  the  Wabash,  and  could  outrun 
any  man  in  this  section  were  he  white  man  or  Indian.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blakeney 
were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  eight  of  whom  grew  to  mature  years  and 
married  and  had  families  of  their  own. 

!Mr.  Blakeney's  home  was  in  Georgetown  township.  One  of  his  sons,  well 
known  in  Sergeant  Blakeney,  married  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Brooks,  the 
founder  of  Brooks'  Point. 

CHARLES    S.    YOUNG. 

Charles  Young  became  an  extensive  land  owner  in  Vermilion  County,  com- 
ing at  the  early  date  of  1829.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  lived  in  that 
state  until  after  his  marriage,  January  14,  1829.  He  lived  in  Harrison  County, 
until  the  following  October  when  the  young  couple  decided  to  change  their 
residence  and  go  to  the  new  county  of  Vermilion  in  the  new  state  of  Illinois. 
They  arrived  here  on  October  14,  and  took  their  life  up  in  Newell  township. 
The  amount  of  his  wealth  at  the  time  of  his  coming  to  Vermilion  County  was 
an  eagle,  a  half  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  in  his  pocket.  He  bought  eighty 
acres  of  wild  prairie  land  and  by  careful  management  he  became  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  Vermilion  County.  He  bought  and  sold  all  kinds  of  stock,  having 
driven  horses  to  the  Cincinnati.  Chicago,  Racine  and  Milwaukee  markets.  Mr. 
Young  was  the  father  of  nine  children.  His  wife  died  in  1871. 

CHARLES    CARAWAY. 

Charles  Caraway  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Caraway  of  Greenbriar  County, 
Virginia.  He  was  born  in  1788,  and  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829.  He 
had  been  married  to  Elizabeth  McCorkle  of  the  same  county  a  few  years  pre- 


134  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

vious  to  his  coming  west.  They  located  not  far  from  Butler's  Point  and  estab- 
lished a  family,  the  descendents  of  whom  have  been  prominent  in  affairs  of  the 
county  since  that  time.  Mr.  Caraway  lived  in  the  county  nine  years  and  died 
in  1838.  His  widow  afterward  married  Anson  Butler,  and  lived  until  1848. 

LATHAM    FOLGER. 

Latham  Folger  entered  land  in  the  Harrison  Purchase,  and  was  a  tanner, 
a  shoemaker  and  a  manufacturer  of  horse  collars.  He  ran  a  tannery,  a  shoe 
shop  and  a  horse-collar  shop  in  El  wood  from  1829  until  1845,  when  he  settled 
on  his  land  in  the  southern  part  of  Elwood  township,  where  he  carried  on 
farming  extensively.  He  died  early  in  the  year  of  1852,  but  his  wife  lived  nearly 
thirty  years  more. 

Latham  Folger  lived  in  Nantucket  Island  in  his  young  days.  He  was  a 
whaler,  and  was  taken  prisoner  while  whaling  during  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  and  because  he  refused  to  fight,  was  left  on  a  small  rocky  island  to  die, 
but  he  was  fortunate  in  having  an  Americn  vessel  come  long  and  rescue  him 
before  he  starved  to  death. 

WILLIAM    CUNNINGHAM. 

William  Cunningham  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  1778,  and  shortly 
after  his  marriage  to  Mary  Humes  came  west  and  settled  in  Kentucky,  coming 
thence  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829.  They  settled  on  the  prairie  in  Newell 
township  at  what  was  afterwards  called  Cunningham  Grove.  The  family  trav- 
eled in  a  prairie  schooner  drawn  by  oxen,  and  much  time  was  consumed  in  com- 
ing from  Kentucky,  the  roads  being  none  of  the  best.  Mr.  Cunningham  settled 
on  section  n  and  there  built  him  a  house  after  the  fashion  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Cunningham  was  married  twice  and  was  the  father  of  twelve  children. 
Chicago  was  the  trading  point  where  Mr.  Cunningham  exchanged  groceries  for 
farm  produce  hauled  there  in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen. 

Mr.  Cunningham  died  at  his  home  in  Newell  township  May  n,  1852. 

WILLIAM    CURRENT. 

William  Current  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829  with  his  brother  and 
sister,  settling  in  Newell  township.  He  was  a  blacksmith  and  wagon-maker  by 
trade  and  after  he  came  west  sold  some  of  the  wagons  he  had  made  to  people  in 
Chicago. 

Chicago  was  the  market  where  he  sold  his  eggs,  butter  and  other  farm  pro- 
duce. Mr.  Current  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  whence  he  came  west.  He  lived  in 
Newell  township  until  his  death  in  1851.  He  was  the  father  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren. His  wife,  Mary  (Bastwin)  Current  survived  her  husband  by  more  than 
thirty  years. 

JAMES    ELLIOTT. 

James  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Elliott  lived  on  a  farm  in  Ohio  until  1829 
when  they  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  where  Mr.  Elliott  bought  land  in 
Vance  township.  Mr.  Elliott  lived  in  this  section  all  his  life,  a  good  citizen.  He 


JOHN  BOGGESS 


III 


MRS.  JOHN  JOHNS 


JOHN  JOHNS 


LEV  I  MEADE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  135 

was  three  times  married,  having  a  family  of  seven  children.     Of  all  these  chil- 
dren but  two  lived  to  maturity  and  they  both  lived  in  Vermilion  County. 

The  oldest  son  of  Mr.  Elliott  Milton,  who  came  to  this  county  with  his 
parents  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Smoot,  who  lived 
near  Fairmount  and  they  were  the  parents  of  six  children.  Mr.  Milton  Elliott 
died  in  1884  and  Mr.  Elliott  died  in  1895. 

JOHN  D.   C.   CLINE. 

John  D.  C.  Cline  came  from  Kentucky  in  1829  and  settled  in  Blount  town- 
ship, where  the  name  has  been  a  familiar  one  ever  since.  The  old  homestead 
was  on  section  26.  Mr.  Cline  was  a  potter  and  frequently  made  trips  as  far 
as  Wisconsin  to  sell  his  goods.  His  son,  Spencer  Cline  continued  the  clearing 
of  the  farm  and  lived  in  the  house  which  his  father  built. 

Spencer  Cline  died  March  27,  1893.     He  was  a  raiser  of  small  fruit. 

JOHN  JOHNS.  . 

John  Johns  was  born  in  Shelby  County,  Kentucky,  May  25,  1805.  While 
he  was  quite  young  his  father  moved  to  Owen  County,  Indiana.  Most  of  his 
early  life  was  spent  flatboating  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Humphrey  at  the  residence  of  Uncle  Reuben 
Partlow,  Owen  County,  Indiana,  in  1826.  He  went  to  Kentucky  to  live  with  his 
wife's  father,  John  Humphrey,  until  1829,  when  he  came  to  this  county  and 
made  his  home  in  Blount  township  in  the  Copeland  neighborhood.  His  brothers- 
in-law,  Benjamin  Stewart  and  John  Mills,  with  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Humph- 
rey, came  here  a  few  years  later.  John  Johns  came  in  a  wagon  from  Ken- 
tucky, bringing  provisions  enough  to  last  one  year  until  he  could  raise  a  crop. 
Mr.  Johns  remained  in  Blount  township  until  1852,  when  he  removed  to  Dan- 
ville. After  coming  to  Danville  he  engaged  in  the  lime  and  plaster  trade  for 
many  years.  He  had  lived  a  retired  life  for  some  years  at  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1886,  at  the  age  of  81  years.  He  died  at  the  home  of  his  son-in-law,  Charles 
Hacker,  after  a  short  and  painful  illness.  He  was  known  to  the  people  as  Father 
Johns,  and  his  quiet  demeanor  made  every  one  fond  of  him.  He  was  like  wheat 
ripe  for  the  sickle.  He  had  been  a  church  member  for  sixty  years,  and  the  first 
religious  services  ever  held  in  Blount  township  were  held  at  his  house. 

After  he  removed  to  Danville  he  united  with  the  North  Street  church  and 
was  buried  from  that  church,  his  interment  being  in  Springhill  cemetery.  An 
old  friend  of  his  wrote  at  the  time  that  he  "was  sound  in  judgment  and  very  de- 
cided in  his  principles,  and  so  far  as  he  knew  the  right  nothing  could  cause  him 
to  swerve  from  the  right." 

JOHN  COX. 

John  Cox  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829  and  settled  on  the  Middle  Fork 
six  miles  west  of  Danville.  He  was  a  carpenter  and  also  owned  a  fine  farm, 
which  he  entered  and  himself  improved.  John  Cox  was  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  belonged  to  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Cox  died  May  23, 


136  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

1846,  and  his  wife  on  September  2,  1851.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren. Thomas,  who  was  a  baby  but  six  week  old  when  his  parents  came  to 
Illinois,  grew  up  to  a  life  of  success  and  usefulness.  He  had  much  land  and 
was  ordained  a  minister  in  the  Baptist  church  in  1886,  after  which  time  he  had 
either  a  regular  charge  or  a  circuit. 

ADAM    PATE. 

Adam  Pate  was  born  in  Virginia,  married  Elizabeth  Owens,  of  Kentucky, 
and  began  their  wedded  life  in  Dearborn  County,  Indiana.  In  1829  they  came  to 
Vermilion  County,  and  located  in  Catlin  township,  where  they  lived  all  their 
remaining  days.  They  experienced  all  the  pleasures  and  the  trials  of  pioneer 
days.  Mr.  Pate  died  February  24,  1867,  and  Mrs.  Pate  died  in  1864. 

EPHRIAM  AGREE. 

Ephriam  Acree  came  to  Vermilion  County  directly  from  Alabama  in  1829. 
He  made  a  settlement  in  Catlin  township.  He  bought  130  acres  of  raw  land 
upon  which  he  built  the  house  that  all  had  at  that  time  and  fenced,  and  broke  six 
acres  the  first  season.  The  next  year  he  managed  to  put  thirty  more  acres  under 
cultivation.  The  corn  raised  could  not  bring  more  than  six  and  a  fourth  cents 
per  bushel  and  the  mills  were  so  far  away  that  it  was  hard  to  get  it  ground  so 
as  to  use  it  for  food  for  the  family.  Joel  Acree,  his  son,  often  took  a  sack  of 
corn  on  horseback  ten  and  sometimes  fifteen  miles  to  get  it  ground.  Mr.  Acree 
died  in  1835  and  was  buried  in  the  Butler  burying  ground.  Joel  Acree  lived 
with  his  mother  until  1848,  when  he  was  married  to  Elvessa  Yount,  daughter 
of  one  of  the  old  settlers. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Joel  Acree  purchased  the  interest  of  his  brothers 
and  sisters  in  the  home  place  and  as  the  younger  children  grew  up  he  purchased 
theirs  until  it  all  was  his.  He  bought  other  land  from  time  to  time  until  he  was 
a  great  land  owner  in  the  county,  beside  having  valuable  land  in  Missouri. 
Ephriam  Acree  was  the  father  of  eleven  children,  many  of  whom  beside  Joel 
were  settled  comfortably  in  Vermilion  County.  Joel  Acree  and  Elvessa  (Yount) 
Acree,  his  wife,  were  the  parents  of  but  two  children  who  grew  to  maturity. 
Of  these  two  daughters,  the  eldest  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  A.  Taylor. 


DR.    HEYWOOD. 

Dr.  Hey  wood  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829,  and  settled  in  Georgetown 
township,  becoming  the  first  regular  physician  of  that  village.  At  that  time 
there  were  but  three  other  physicians  in  the  county.  These  were  Dr.  Holmes.  Dr. 
Wood  and  Dr.  Smith.  After  ten  years  of  practice  Dr.  Heywood  moved  on  his 
farm  in  Carroll  township,  where  he  remained  until  1871,  when  he  moved  to 
Indianola.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  Barnett,  in  1831.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  George  Barnett.  Dr.  Heywood  was  a  politician  as  well  as  a  physician.  He 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  137 

represented  his  county  in  the  legislature  in   1855.     He  was  very  familiar  with 
Mr.  Lincoln. 

JOHN   W.    VANCE. 

John  W.  Vance  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Ohio  in  about  1823  or  1824. 
He  was  born  in  1782  and  died  at  the  home  of  his  son  in  1857.  He  leased  the 
Salt  Works  and  developed  them,  running  them  to  their  greatest  capacity,  as  long 
as  there  was  any  profit  in  them.  Mr.  Vance  was  very  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  county  at  an  early  day.  He  represented  the  county  in  the  legislature  for 
two  terms.  Mr.  Vance  married  Miss  Deziah  Rathburn  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Lura  Guymon  by  a  former  marriage.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vance  were  Horace  W.  Vance,  and  J.  Col.  Vance,  his  sons,  also  Helen,  who 
became  the  wife  of  J.  Wilson;  Lura  G.,  who  became  the  wife  of  S.  R.  Tilton; 
and  Josephine  L.,  wife  of  L.  Steele;  with  Bridget,  Marion,  Mariah,  and  Joseph, 
the  last  three  of  whom  died  young.  While  Mr.  Vance  was  working  the  salt 
springs,  the  land  upon  which  the  works  were  located  was  selected  for  the  county 
seat,  but  he  refused  to  surrender  his  lease  and  the  location  was  changed,  thereby 
giving  Danville  a  chance  to  secure  it.  Had  it  not  been  for  his  position  at  that 
time,  the  county  seat  might  have  been  permanently  placed  at  that  place  and 
the  history  of  the  county  would  have  been  radically  different. 

ANDREW    DAVIDSON. 

Andrew  Davidson  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1828  after  their  family 
were  pretty  well  grown,  and  settled  near  Myersville.  They  brought  seven  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  were  married.  Very  soon  afterward  another  was  followed 
by  Joseph  Kerr  who  married  her.  Andrew  Davidson'  saw  his  children  all 
nicely  settled  before  he  died  in  1841.  His  children  were  all  girls  excepting  two 
sons.  One  of  these  sons  remained  in  Myersville  and  the  other  came  to  Dan- 
ville. One  of  Mr.  Davidson's  daughters  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Gundy, 
before  they  left  Ohio  and  came  to  Vermilion  County. 

SAMUEL  ADAMS. 

Samuel  Adams  was  a  pioneer  of  that  part  of  Vermilion  County  now  known 
as  Newell  township.  He  came  in  the  year  1825,  and  with  his  wife  settled 
among  the  Indians,  who  outnumbered  the  white  people  for  some  time  ten  to 
one.  There  were  three  families  who  came  together  from  Harrison  County, 
Kentucky,  at  this  time  all  coming  in  two  horse  wagons,  and  it  took  three  or 
four  weeks  to  make  the  trip.  The  party  camped  along  the  roadside  as  they 
were  coming.  The  party  consisted  of  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams  his  cousin, 
and  Joseph  Martin  a  brother-in-law  of  Samuel  Adams'  father.  Samuel  Adams 
had  his  wife  and  two  children  with  him  on  this  trip.  They  all  took  up  their 
abode  on  the  state  boundary  line  and  soon  Mr.  Adams  had  a  log  cabin  erected 
with  a  stick  and  clay  chimney.  This  stood  on  section  22  Xewell  township,  the 
old  family  homestead.  He  entered  eighty  acres  of  land  from  the  government 
for  which  he  paid  one  hundred  dollars.  This  property  has  always  been  in  the 


138  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

hands  of  the  family  since.  Samuel  Adams  was  a  noted  dealer  in  hogs  which  he 
raised  for  the  home  market.  His  earliest  trading  points  were  Eugene  and 
Perrysville  on  the  Wabash  River,  and  later  he  hauled  produce  to  Chicago.  It 
took  about  eighteen  days  for  the  trip.  It  was  necessary  to  ford  the  rivers, 
for  no  bridges  had  been  built,  and  to  camp  out  along  the  road  at  night.  Home- 
made clothing  was  used  and  the  second  wife  of  Mr.  Adams  was  noted  for  her 
skill  in  weaving.  She  made  blankets  and  coverlets  for  the  beds  and  material 
for  the  household  use.  Mr.  Adams'  wife  who  came  from  Kentucky  with  him 
died  in  the  'forties  and  he  married  Sarah  Rayle  as  his  second  wife.  She  was  a 
widow  with  five  children.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Luke  Kayles  who  was  an 
early  pioneer  of  Vermilion  County,  and  was  the  first  owner  of  land  on  the 
North  Fork,  of  the  Big  Vermilion  River.  Samuel  Adams  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years  in  the  year  1881,  and  his  second  wife,  one  year  later  at  the  age 
of  seventy-four.  He  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children  by  his  first  wife. 

This  list  of  the  makers  of  Vermilion  County  is  of  necessity  limited.  There 
are  other  citizens  of  this  decade  who  have  been  overlooked  without  doubt.  The 
omission  of  any  name  of  men  who  came  to  this  section  previous  to  1830  is  not 
intentional  and  comes  only  because  of  lack  of  information  regarding  such.  True 
this  period  covering  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  makers  of  Vermilion  County 
from  1819  to  1829  includes  but  three  years  of  the  actual  existence  of  Vermilion 
County  as  an  organization,  but  it  is  the  first  decade  of  the  life  of  the  white  man 
in  the  section  of  country  now  known  as  Vermilion  County  and  as  such,  gives 
the  story  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  territory. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  *:',  : 

INDIAN  WARS  AS  AFFECTING  THIS  SECTION. 

INDIANS  DID  NOT  ANNOY  EARLY  SETTLERS PASSING  OF  THE  INDIAN  TO  THE  NORTH 

AND  NORTHWEST HABITAT  OF  THE  WINNEBAGOES INDIGNITIES  ON  THE  WIN~ 

NEBAGOES  BY  THE  WHITE  MEN THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR GURDON 

HUBBARD'S  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR — HEZEKIAH  CUNNINGHAM'S 

NARRATIVE  OF  THE  WINNEBAGO  WAR THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR — THE  POTTA- 

WATOMIES  DID  NOT  CONTEMPLATE  THE  CAPTURE  OF  FORT  DEARBORN  IN  1832— 
PART  TAKEN  BY  THE  CITIZENS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  IN  THE  BLACK  HAWK 
WAR COLONEL  PAYNE'S  BLOCK  HOUSE. 

This  section  of  the  country  was  not  settled  until  after  a  binding  treaty  was 
made  with  the  Indians  and  there  was  but  little  annoyance  from  them  in  con- 
sequence. The  Miamis  and  Piankeshaws  had  given  place  to  the  Kickapoos  and 
Pottowatomies  before  coming  of  the  white  man.  When  the  settlements  were 
begun  the  white  man  came  in  numbers  to  overpower  the  red  man  were  he  in- 
clined to  be  hostile,  and  he  transferred  his  hunting  grounds  to  the  north  and 
northwest.  Northern  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  were  the  attractions  of  the  Indian  in 
the  twenties  and  early  thirties.  The  Winnebagoes  had  possession  of  the  coun- 
try between  Green  Bay  and  the  Mississippi  river.  This  tribe  was  greatly  and 
justly  angered  by  the  indignities  perpetrated  by  some  white  men  upon  them. 
These  white  men  were  ascending  the  Mississippi  river  in  the  early  summer  of 
1827,  in  charge  of  two  keel-boats.  They  landed  at  a  Winnebago  camp  not 
far  above  Prairie  du  Chien.  After  making  the  Indians  all  drunk  and  them- 
selves, probably,  as  well,  they  captured  some  six  or  seven  squaws.  These  the 
men  took  with  them  to  Fort  Snelling.  Returning,  they  were  met  by  several  hun- 
dred Winnebago  "braves"  who  had  become  sober  and  planned  an  attack  to 
avenge  the  capture  of  their  squaws.  A  narrow  pass  in  the  river  drove  the  boats 
to  the  shore  and  the  white  men  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  redmen.  In  the 
encounter  which  ensued  the  savages  killed  several  of  the  white  men  and  wounded 
many  more  before  they  could  be  repulsed.  The  squaws  escaped.  This  was  the 
beginning,  and,  in  reality,  the  end  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  threatened  Indian 
war.  The  Pottowatomies  about  Chicago  sympathized  with  the  Winnebagoes 
and  tfiere  was  deep  concern  felt  by  those  about  Fort  Dearborn  lest  their  danger 
was  imminent.  The  federal  government  ordered  out  the  National  troops  under 
General  Atkinson,  and  Governor  Edwards  called  out  the  state  militia  with  orders 
to  march  to  Galena.  So  alarmed  did  the  people  about  Fort  Dearborn  become, 

139 


140  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

that  they  sent  Colonel  Gurdon  Hubbard  to  Vermilion  County  for  troops.  This 
mad  ride  of  Colonel  Hubbard  has  passed  into  history  as  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able on  record.  Although  subsequent  conditions  did  not  prove  as  important  in 
the  one  as  in  the  other,  yet  this  ride  of  itself,  was  as  courageous  and  might  have 
had  as  far  reaching  results  as  the  one  of  Paul  Revere,  which  has  been  the  in- 
spiration of  story  and  song.  Colonel  Hubbard  knew  the  country  through  which 
he  was  going  to  pass  very  well.  He  had  traveled  the  way  many  times  as  he 
visited  his  trading  posts  from  Fort  Dearborn  to  the  Little  Vermilion.  Leaving 
Chicago  in  the  afternoon  he  reached  his  trading  post  on  the  Iroquois,  despite 
the  rain  in  the  night.  Pushing  on,  for  his  errand  would  not  permit  him  to 
tarry  anywhere,  he  reached  Sugar  creek  long  before  morning.  He  found  this 
stream  swollen  beyond  its  banks,  and  was  obliged  to  make  his  first  stop,  waiting 
until  daylight  here.  His  Indian  pony  was  almost  exhausted  when  he  reached 
Spencer's,  two  miles  south  of  Danville,  that  same  day.  Runners  were  dispatched 
to  the  settlements  on  the  Little  Vermilion  to  enlist  the  help  for  which  he  had 
made  that  desperate  ride.  In  the  seventh  volume  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Collections,  Gurdon  Hubbard  makes  statements  which  give  accurate  and  lucid 
account  of  affairs  at  this  time.  Quoting  directly,  Mr.  Hubbard  says : 

"The  first  intelligence  we  had  of  the  massacre  on  the  upper  Mississippi  river, 
in  1827,  here  at  Fort  Dearborn,  was  brought  by  General  Cass,  who,  at  the  time, 
was  at  Green  Bay  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  treaty.  The  moment  the  Gen- 
eral received  the  news  of  the  hostile  proceedings  of  the  Winnebagoes.  he 
started  in  a  birchbark  canoe,  descended  the  Wisconsin  and  Mississippi  rivers  to 
Jefferson  Barracks,  where  he  prevailed  on  the  commanding  officer  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  chartering  a  steamer  and  sending  troops  up  the  Mississippi. 
The  expedition  left  the  morning  after  General  Cass  arrived  there,  he 
accompanying  the  party  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  which  he 
ascended,  and  came  here  to  Chicago  in  his  light  canoe. 

"I  was  taking  breakfast  with  Mr.  John  Kinzie,  when  we  heard  the  Canadian 
boat-song.  Mr.  Kinzie  remarked  that  the  leader's  voice  was  like  Forsyth's,  sec- 
retary to  General  Cass.  We  all  rushed  to  the  piazza;  the  canoe  propelled  by 
thirteen  voyageurs  was  coming  rapidly  down  the  river  in  full  view — a  beautiful 
sight.  We  hastened  to  the  bank,  receiving  General  Cass  and  Forsyth,  the  latter 
a  nephew  of  Mr.  Kinzie.  While  they  were  eating  their  breakfast  they  gave  us 
full  particulars  of  what  had  transpired.  Gen.  Cass  remained  perhaps  two  hours 
and  left,  coasting  Lake  Michigan.  Big  Foot's  village  was  at  what  is  now  Geneva 
Lake,  then  known  as  Big  Foot's  Lake.  An  expedition  was  contemplated  by 
Big  Foot's  band  to  capture  Fort  Dearborn,  and  to  this  end  this  chief  had  been 
at  the  fort  circulating  the  war  wampum  among  the  Pottowatomies  while  they 
were  here  receiving  their  annuities.  But  all  to  no  purpose.  It  was  not  accepted 
by  the  chiefs  and  braves  of  the  Pottowatomies.  This  effort  to  get  aid  from  the 
Pottowatomies  was  kept  so  secret  that  not  a  white  man  knew  a  thing  about  it. 
The  Indians  had  left  the  foot  before  General  Cass  came,  but  Big  Foot's 
band  lingered.  During  this  time  the  fort,  then  evacuated,  was  struck  by  light- 
ning. The  barracks  on  the  east  side,  the  storehouse  at  the  south  gate,  and  part 
of  the  guard  house  at  the  south  gate,  burned  down. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  141 

"It  was  at  the  time  blowing  and  raining  furiously.  I  was  sleeping  with 
Robert  Kinzie,  United  States  postmaster,  in  his  father's  house.  We  put  on  our 
clothes,  ran  to  the  river,  and  found  our  canoe  filled  with  water ;  we  could  make 
no  headway  with  it.  We  then  swam  the  river  and  aided  in  extinguishing  the 
fire.  We  received  no  aid  from  the  Indians  of  Big  Foot's  band.  We  thought  it 
strange  at  the  time  and  they  decamped  in  the  morning.  The  news  by  General 
Cass  made  us  suspicious  of  Big  Foot.  That  same  day  we  sent  Shaubanee  and 
Billy  Caldwell  to  Big  Foot's  village  as  spies,  to  ascertain  what  the  Indians'  in- 
tentions were.  Caldwell  secreted  himself  in  the  woods,  sending  Shaubanee  into 
the  camp.  He  was  immediately  seized,  but  by  his  presence  of  mind  and  shrewd- 
ness, was  liberated. 

"He  was  escorted  by  Big  Foot  Indians  for  half  a  day,  Shaubanee  giving  a 
signal  as  they  passed  near  where  Caldwell  was,  so  that  he  and  Caldwell  did  not 
return  together,  Caldwell  reaching  here  about  two  hours  later.  Shaubanee  re- 
ported that  he  was  questioned  as  to  the 'quantity  of  guns  and  ammunition  the 
traders  had  here,  which  led  him  to  think  an  attack  was  contemplated.  Big  Foot 
admitted  he  had  joined  the  Winnebagoes  to  drive  the  whites  from  the  country, 
urging  Shaubanee  to  act  with  him,  who  replied  that  he  would  go  home,  call  a 
council  of  his  braves,  and  send  him  an  answer.  There  were  only  about  thirty 
whites  here  at  Chicago,  able  to  bear  arms  at  that  time.  A  council  was  called, 
which  resulted  in  a  resolution  to  send  two  or  three  to  the  Wabash  for  aid. 
Three  volunteers  were  called  for  this  purpose,  but  no  one  seemed  willing  to  go. 
I  volunteered  to  go  alone.  Mrs.  Helm  who  was  here  at  the  massacre  of  1812, 
but  fifteen  years  ago,  objected  on  the  ground  that  I  was  the  only  one  who  had 
sufficient  influence  to  command  the  voyageurs,  in  case  of  attack,  but  it  was  finally 
decided  that  I  should  go.  I  started  about  four  o'clock  P.  M.  and  reached  within 
two  miles  of  Danville,  at  my  destination,  the  next  afternoon — one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles.  Runners  were  immediately  dispatched  through  the  settlements  and 
the  second  day,  one  hundred  mounted  volunteers  reported  and  we  left  for  Chi- 
cago, reaching  there  the  seventh  day  after  my  leaving  the  fort.  These  volun- 
teers remained,  I  think,  about  twenty-five  days,  when  we  received  the  news  that 
the  troops  from  Jefferson  Barracks  had  reached  the  upper  Mississippi.  The 
Winnebagoes,  surprised  at  their  arrival,  got  together  and  concluded  a  peace  with 
the  commanding  officer." 

After  reading  this  account  given  by  Hubbard  himself,  it  is  well  to  turn  to 
another  account  as  given  by  a  citizen  of  Vermilion  Count}'  of  the  part  this  sec- 
tion took  in  this  war.  There  is  a  narrative  given  by  Hezekiah  Cunningham  in 
the  Beckwith  history,  which  graphically  portrays  the  conditions  of  this  expedi- 
tion and  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  times  and  occasion  so  that  it  is  well  to 
reproduce  it  here.  Mr.  Cunningham  was  one  of  the  men  who  responded  to  the 
call  of  Hubbard  and  knew  all  about  the  matter.  He  says : 

"In  the  night  time,  about  the  fifteenth  of  July,  1827,  I  was  awakened  by  my 
brother-in-law,  Alexander  McDonald,  telling  me  that  Mr.  Hubbard  had  just 
come  in  from  Chicago,  with  the  word  that  the  Indians  were  about  to  massacre 
the  people  there,  and  that  men  were  wanted  for  their  protection  at  once.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  county  capable  of  bearing  arms  had  been  enrolled  under  the 
militia  law  of  the  state,  and  organized  as  'The  Vermilion  County  Battalion'  in 


142  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

which  I  held  a  commission  as  Captain.  I  dressed  myself  and  started  forthwith 
to  notify  all  the  men  belonging  to  my  company  to  meet  at  Butler's  Point,  the 
place  where  the  county  business  was  then  conducted,  and  where  the  militia  met 
to  muster.  The  captains  of  the  other  companies  were  notified,  the  same  as  my- 
self, and  they  warned  out  their  respective  companies  the  same  as  I  did  mine.  I 
rode  the  remainder  of  the  night  at  this  work,  up  and  down  the  Little  Vermilion. 
At  noon  the  next  day  the  battalion  was  at  Butler's  Point.  Most  of  the  men 
lived  on  the  Little  Vermilion  river,  and  had  to  ride  or  walk  six  to  twelve  miles 
to  the  place  of  rendezvous.  Volunteers  were  called  for,  and  in  a  little  time  fifty 
men,  the  required  number,  were  raised.  Those  who  agreed  to  go,  then  held 
an  election  of  officers  for  the  campaign,  choosing  Achilles  Morgan,  Captain ; 
Major  Bayles,  First  Lieutenant,  and  Colonel  Isaac  'Moore,  as  Second  Lieu- 
tenant. The  names  of  the  private  men  as  near  as  I  can  remember  them  are  as 
follows:  George  M.  Beckwith,  John  Beasly,  myself  (Hezekiah  Cunningham), 
Julian  Ellis,  Sherman  Cox,  James  Dixon,  Asa  Elliott,  Francis  Foley,  William 
Foley,  a  Mr.  Hammers,  Jacob  Heater,  a  Mr.  Davis,  Erin  Morgan,  Isaac  Goen, 
Jonathan  Phelps,  Joshua  Parish,  William  Reed,  John  Myers  (Little  Vermilion 
John),  John  S.  Saulsbury,  a  Mr.  Kirkman,  Anthony  Swisher,  George  Swisher, 
Joseph  Price,  George  Weir,  John  Vaughn,  Newton  Wright  and  Abel  Williams. 
Many  of  these  men  were  without  horse  and  the  neighbors  who  had  horses  and 
did  not  go,  loaned  their  animals  to  those  who  did.  Still  there  were  five  men  who 
started  afoot,  as  there  were  not  horses  for  them.  We  disbanded  after  we  were 
mustered  in  and  went  home  to  cook  five  days  rations,  and  were  ordered  to 
be  at  Danville  the  next  day.  The  men  all  had  a  pint  of  whisky  thinking  it  es- 
sential to  mix  a  little  of  it  with  the  slough  water  we  were  to  drink  on  our  route. 
Abel  Williams  was  smart  enough,  however,  to  take  some  ground  coffee  and  a 
tin  cup  along,  using  no  stimulants  whatever.  He  had  warm  drinks  on  his  way 
up  to  Chicago  and  on  our  way  back,  all  of  us,  had  the  same.  We  arrived  at  the 
Vermilion  river  on  about  noon  on  Sunday,  the  day  after  assembling  at  Butler's 
Point.  The  river  was  up  running  bank  full,  about  a  hundred  yards  wide,  with 
a  strong  current.  Our  men  and  saddles  were  taken  over  in  a  canoe.  We  un- 
dertook to  swim  our  horses,  and  as  they  were  driven  into  the  water  the  current 
would  strike  them  and  they  would  swim  in  a  circle,  and  return  to  the  shore  a 
few  rods  below.  Mr.  Hubbard,  provoked  at  this  delay,  threw  off  his  coat  and 
said : — 'Give  me  old  Charley,'  meaning  a  large,  steady  going  horse  owned  by 
James  Butler  and  loaned  to  Jacob  Heater.  Mr.  Hubbard  mounting  this  horse, 
bodily  dashed  into  the  stream,  and  the  other  horses  were  quickly  crowded  after 
him.  The  water  was  so  swift  that  old  Charley  became  unmanageable,  when 
Mr.  Hubbard  dismounted  on  the  upper  side,  and  seized  the  horse  by  the  mane 
near  the  animal's  head  and  swimming  with  his  left  arm,  guided  the  horse  in  the 
direction  of  the  opposite  shore.  We  were  afraid  he  would  be  washed  under 
the  horse,  or  be  struck  by  his  feet  and  be  drowned;  but  he  got  over  without 
damage,  except  the  wetting  of  his  broadcloth  pants  and  moccasins.  These  he  had 
to  dry  on  his  person  as  we  went  on  our  way.  I  will  here  say  that  a  better  man 
than  Mr.  Hubbard  could  not  have  been  sent  to  our  people.  He  was  well  known 
to  all  the  settlers.  His  generosity,  his  quiet  and  determined  courage,  and  his 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  143 

integrity  were  so  well  known  and  appreciated  that  he  had  the   confidence   and 
good  will  of  everybody,  and  was  a  well  recognized  leader  among  us  pioneers. 

"At  that  time  there  were  no  persons  living  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Vermilion 
river,  near  Danville,  except  Robert  Trickle  and  George  Weir,  up  near  the  pres- 
ent (1879)  woolen  factory,  and  William  Reed  and  Dan  Beckwith;  the  latter 
had  a  little  log  cabin  on  the  bluff  of  the  Vermilion  near  the  present  highway 
bridge  or  rather  on  the  edge  of  the  hill  east  of  the  highway  some  rods.  Here 
he  kept  store  in  addition  to  his  official  duties  of  constable  and  county  surveyor. 
The  store  contained  a  small  assortment  of  such  articles  as  were  suitable  for  bar- 
ter with  the  Indians  who  were  the  principal  customers.  We  called  it  the 
'Saddle-bag'  store  because  the  supplies  were  brought  us  from  Terre  Haute  in 
saddle-bags,  that  indispensable  accompaniment  of  every  rider  in  those  days,  be- 
fore highways  were  provided  for  the  use  of  vehicles.  Mr.  Reed  had  been  elected 
sheriff  the  previous  March,  receiving  fifty-seven  out  of  the  eighty  votes  cast 
at  the  election  and  which  represented  about  all  the  voting  population  of  the 
country  at  that  time.  Both  Reed  and  Dan  wanted  to  go  with  us,  and  after  quite 
a  warm  controversy  between  them,  as  it  was  impossible  for  both  to  leave,  it  was 
agreed  that  Reed  should  go  and  that  Beckwith  would  look  after  the  affairs  of 
both  while  he  was  gone.  Amos  Williams  was  building  his  house  in  Danville 
at  that  time,  the  sale  of  lots  having  taken  place  the  previous  April. 

"Crossing  the  North  Fork  at  Denmark,  three  miles  north  of  Danville,  we 
passed  the  cabin  of  Seymour  Treat.  He  was  building  a  mill  at  that  place,  and  his 
house  was  the  last  one  in  which  a  family  was  living  until  we  reached  Hubbard's 
trading  post  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Iroquois  river,  near  which  has  since  been 
known  as  the  town  of  'Buncombe,'  and  from  this  trading  post  there  was  no 
habitation,  Indian  wigwams  excepted,  on  the  line  of  our  march  until  we  reached 
Fort  Dearborn.  It  was  a  wilderness  of  prairie  all  the  way  except  a  little  tim- 
ber we  passed  through  near  Sugar  creek  and  at  the  Iroquois.  Late  in  the  same 
afternoon  that  we  passed  Treat's  house,  we  halted  at  the  last  crossing  of  the 
North  Fork  at  Bicknell's  Point,  a  little  north  of  the  present  town  of  Rossville. 
Here  three  of  the  foot  men  turned  back  as  the  conditions  of  the  streams  made 
it  impossible  for  them  to  continue  longer  with  us.  Two  men  who  had  horses 
also  left  us.  After  a  hasty  lunch  we  struck  out  across  the  eighteen  mile  prairie, 
the  men  stringing  out  on  the  trail,  Indian  file,  reaching  Sugar  creek  late  in  the 
night,  where  we  went  into  camp  on  the  south  bank,  near  the  present  town  of 
Milford.  The  next  day  before  noon,  we  arrived  at  Hubbard's  Trading  House, 
which  was  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Iroquois,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
river.  A  lot  of  Indians,  some  of  them  half  naked,  were  laying  and  lounging 
around  on  the  river's  bank  and  trading-house ;  and  when  it  was  proposed  to 
swim  our  horses  over  in  advance  of  passing  the  men  in  boats  the  men  objected, 
fearing  the  Indians  would  take  our  horses,  or  stampede  them,  or  do  us  some 
other  mischief.  Mr.  Hubbard  assured  us  these  savages  were  friendly,  and  we 
afterwards  learned  that  they  were  Pottowatomies,  known  as  'Hubbard  Band' 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  long  traded  with,  and  had  an  influence  over  them. 
It  is  proper  to  state  here  that  we  were  deficient  in  arms.  We  gathered  up  squir- 
rel rifles,  flint  locks,  old  muskets  or  anything  like  a  gun,  that  we  may  have  had 
about  our  houses.  Some  of  us  had  no  fire-arms  at  all.  I,  myself,  was  among 


144  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

this  number.  Mr.  Hubbard  supplied  those  of  us  who  had  inefficient  weapons, 
or  those  of  us  who  were  without  them.  He  also  gave  us  flour  and  salt  pork. 
He  had  lately  brought  up  the  Iroquois  river,  a  supply  of  these  articles.  We 
remained  at  Hubbard's  trading  house  the  remainder  of  the  day,  cooking  rations 
and  supplying  our  necessities.  The  next  morning  we  again  moved  forward, 
swimming  Beaver  creek  and  crossing  Kankakee  river  at  the  rapids,  just  at  the 
head  of  the  island  near  Momence ;  pushing  along  we  passed  Yellowhead's  vil- 
lage. The  old  chief,  with  a  few  old  men  and  squaws  and  papooses,  were  at 
home;  the  young  men  were  off  on  a  hunt.  Remaining  here  a  little  time,  we 
again  set  out,  and  going  about  five  miles,  we  encamped  at  the  point  of  the  tim- 
ber on  Yellow  Head's  creek.  The  next  morning  we  again  set  out  crossing  a 
branch  of  the  Calumet  to  the  west  of  the  Blue  Island.  All  the  way  from  Dan- 
ville we  had  followed  an  Indian  trail,  since  known  as  Hubbard's  Trace.  There 
was  no  signs  of  roads,  the  prairies  and  the  whole  country  was  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  by  Indian  trails,  and  we  never  could  have  got  through  but  for  the 
knowledge  Mr.  Hubbard  had  of  the  country.  It  had  been  raining  for  some  days 
before  we  left  home,  and  it  rained  almost  every  day  on  the  route.  The  streams 
and  sloughs  were  full  of  water.  We  swam  the  former  and  traveled  through  the 
latter,  some  times  almost  by  the  hour.  Many  of  the  ponds  were  so  deep  that 
our  men  dipped  up  the  water  to  drink  as  they  sat  in  their  saddles. 

"Colonel  Hubbard,  fared  better  than  the  rest  of  us — that  is,  he  did  not  get 
his  legs  wet  as  often,  for  he  rode  a  very  tall,  iron-gray  stallion,,  that  Peleg 
Spencer,  Sr.,  living  two  miles  south  of  Danville,  loaned  him.  The  little  In- 
dian pony  Hubbard  rode  in  from  the  Iroquois,  to  Spencers,  was  so  used  up,  as 
to  be  unfit  for  the  return  journey. 

"We  reached  Chicago  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  severe  rain  storm  I  ever  experienced,  accompanied  by- 
thunder  and  vicious  lightning.  The  rain  we  did  not  mind ;  we  were  without 
tents  and  were  used  to  wetting.  The  water  we  took  within  us  hurt  us  more 
than  that  which  fell  upon  us,  as  drinking  it  made  many  of  us  sick.  The  people 
of  Chicago  were  very  glad  to  see  us.  They  had  been  expecting  an  attack  every 
hour  since  Colonel  Hubbard  had  left  them,  and  as  we  approached  they  did  not 
know  whether  we  were  enemies  or  friends,  and  when  they  learned  that  we  were 
friends,  they  gave  us  a  shout  of  welcome.  They  had  organized  a  company  of 
thirty  or  fifty  men,  composed  principally  of  Canadian  half-breeds,  interspersed 
with  a  few  Americans,  all  under  command  of  Captain  Beaubien.  The  Ameri- 
cans, seeing  we  were  a  better-looking  crowd,  wanted  to  leave  their  associates 
and  join  our  company.  This  feeling  caused  quite  a  row,  and  the  officers  finally 
restored  harmony,  and  the  discontented  men  went  back  to  their  old  command. 
The  town  of  Chicago  was  composed  at  this  time,  of  six  or  seven  American 
families,  a  number  of  half-breeds,  and  a  lot  of  idle,  vagabond  Indians  loitering 
about.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Robert  and  James  Kinzie,  and  their  father, 
John  Kinzie.  We  kept  guard  day  and  night,  for  some  eight  or  ten  days,  when 
a  runner  came  in — I  think  from  Green  Bay — bringing  word  that  General  Cass 
had  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Winnebagoes,  and  we  might  now  disband  and 
go  home.  The  citizens  were  overjoyed  at  the  news  and  in  their  gladness  they 
turned  out  one  barrel  of  gin,  one  barrel  of  brandy  and  one  barrel  of  whisky, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  145 

knocking  the  heads  of  the  barrels  in.     Everybody  was  invited  to  take  a   free 
drink,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  everybody  did  drink. 

"The  ladies  of  Fort  Dearborn  treated  us  especially  well.  I  say  this  without 
disparaging  the  conduct  of  the  men  to  us.  The  ladies  gave  us  all  manner  of 
good  things  to  eat ;  they  loaded  us  with  provisions  and  gave  us  all  those  deli- 
cate attentions  that  the  kindness  of  a  woman's  heart  would  suggest.  Some  of 
them,  the  ladies  whom,  I  understand,  were  recently  from  New  York,  dis- 
tributed tracts  and  other  reading  matter  among  our  company,  and  interested 
themselves  zealously  in  our  spiritual,  as  well  as  our  temporal  welfare.  We 
started  on  our  return,  camping  out  of  nights  and  reaching  home  on  the  third 
day.  The  only  good  water  we  got,  going  out  or  coming  back,  was  at  a  re- 
markable spring  bursting  out  of  the  top  of  a  little  mound  in  the  midst  of  a 
slough  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Kankakee.  I  shall  never  forget  this  spring;  it 
was  a  curiosity,  found  in  the  situation  I  have  described. 

"In  conclusion,  let  me  say,  that,  under  the  bounty  act  of  1852,  I  received  a 
warrant  for  eighty  acres  of  land  for  my  service  in  the  campaign  above  nar- 
rated." 

The  other  important  Indian  war  affected  Vermilion  County  no  more  di- 
rectly. It  was  what  is  known  in  history  as  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  bears  date 
of  1832,  five  years  after  that  of  the  Winnebago  war.  The  vast  extent  of  ter- 
ritory in  the  northern  part  of  Illinois,  was  owned  by  the  Saux  and  Fox  In- 
dians up  to  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  1830.  A  treaty  was  made  with  them  as 
early  as  1804,  by  which  they,  for  $2,000,  and  an  annuity  of  $1,000,  ceded  to  the 
United  States  large  tracts  of  land  on  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  river.  At  this 
time  these  Indians  were  mostly  west  of  the  Mississippi,  140  leagues  above  St. 
Louis,  and  they  numbered  1,200.  In  the  war  of  1812,  three  hundred  warriors 
joined  the  British  at  Maiden,  and  took  part  in  the  attack  on  Sandusky.  This 
was  the  time,  it  must  be  remembered,  of  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn,  and 
the  subsequent  raids  against  the  Indians  by  the  Illinois  Rangers.  Keokuk,  one 
of  their  chiefs,  with  a  part  of  the  tribe,  remained  friendly,  then  and  afterward. 
In  1815  they  made  a  treaty  of  peace  but  one  band  of  Saux  (or  Sacs,  as  they 
were  frequently  called),  long  continued  to  be  called  the  British  Band. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  1824  and  that  of  1830  which  virtually  ratified 
the  former,  the  Indians  agreed  to  go  across  the  Mississippi  and  open  up  the  land 
on  the  east  side  to  the  white  man.  This  treaty  was  recognized  by  the  most 
of  the  Indians  and  was  satisfactory  to  the  great  chief,  Keokuk,  but  was  not 
considered  binding  by  the  equally  as  great  chief,  Black  Hawk.  He  claimed  that 
neither  himself  nor  any  one  representing  his  band  was  present  when  either 
treaty  was  made.  An  agreement  was  at  last  effected  between  the  Indian  and  the 
white  man  that  provided  for  a  joint  ownership  of  the  land,  but  which,  by  the 
nature  of  conditions,  could  not  stand.  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  grew  more 
and  more  annoying — the  white  settlers  retaliated  by  tearing  down  fences  and 
letting  their  cattle  in  to  destroy  the  corn  the  squaws  had  planted.  The  troops, 
both  State  and  National,  were  sent  into  that  section  and  drove  Black  Hawk's 
band  across  the  Mississippi.  This  was  in  1831.  Black  Hawk  had  been  an  ally 
of  the  British  and  his  band  was  yet  called  the  British  Band  and  the  Americans 
were  suspicious  of  him,  so  that  when  he,  the  following  year,  came  with  his 


146  HISTORY  IF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

entire  band,  including  the  squaws  and  papooses,  and  cooking  utensils,  with  the 
avowed  intention  that,  if  his  squaws  were  not  allowed  to  plant  corn  on  their 
old  fields  he  would  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Winnebagoes  and  plant  corn 
near  some  of  their  villages,  his  motives  in  coming  were  seriously  questioned. 
His  coming  caused  great  alarm  and  Governor  Reynolds  called  out  the  militia 
and  forced  the  position,  on  the  part  of  Black  Hawk,  to  make  war  upon  the 
whites.  A  council  with  Black  Hawk  would,  without  doubt,  have  resulted  in  a 
submission  without  bloodshed.  At  least  this  seems  to  be  the  correct  reading 
of  history.  The  details  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  are  out  of  place  here  other 
than  to  the  extent  that  Vermilion  County  was  affected  by  them. 

The  first  knowledge  the  people  had  of  this  war  was  at  the  Sunday  ser- 
vices being  conducted  by  Rev.  Kingsbury.  These  services  were  in  the  second 
story  of  a  store  building.  The  terrible  fear  of  being  captured  by  the  Indians 
had  sent  the  scattered  inhabitants  of  the  Fox  River  counryt  from  their  homes 
to  the  southward,  always  with  the  cry  "The  Indians !"  "The  Indians !"  Three  of 
these  terrified  white  men  had  made  their  way  to  Danville,  and  on  that  quiet 
bright  Lord's  Day,  all  breathless  with  fear  and  fatigue,  had  alarmed  the  town 
by  rushing  into  service  with  this  cry  of  terror  and  the  appaling  stories  they 
had  to  tell.  Rumors  of  distress  grew,  and  sympathy  increased  until  a  call  for 
volunteers  to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  white  men  in  peril  resulted  in  the  enlist- 
ment, in  less  than  two  hours,  of  thirty-one  men  ready  to  march  out  to  save  the 
settlers.  Provision  was  hasily  prepared,  firearms  were  secured,  an  election  of 
officers  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Dan  Beckwith  for  Captain,  and  by  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  this  company  was  on  the  way  to  Joliet.  They  reached  Beck- 
nell's  crossing  of  the  North  Fork  by  nightfall,  where  they  went  into  camp. 
The  next  morning  they  went  out  on  the  great  prairie  and  pushed  between  the 
path  of  the  families  coming  south  and  what  they  supposed  were  the  pursuing 
Indians.  However,  they  could  not  find  any  Indians  in  pursuit ;  in  fact,  they 
only  found  some  friendly  Pottowatomies  who  were  known  to  the  officers  of  the 
company.  A  story  of  possible  danger  which  was  not  met  by  this  company  was  a 
tale  current  for  some  time  afterward,  but  in  reality,  there  was  no  incident  re- 
corded, either  going  or  coming  to  excite  their  alarm.  The  one  incident  to  which 
reference  is  made,  was  this — one  evening  they  were  near  the  "twelve  mile 
grove"  and  camped  for  the  night.  Dr.  Fithian  and  George  Beckwith  were  sent 
out  to  reconnoitre  this  grove  as  spies.  As  they  approached  this  grove  their 
horses  were  seized  with  an  unaccountable  fright  and  their  riders  lost  control  of 
them.  As  the  dusk  was  settling  down,  the  men  decided  it  would  hardly  be  safe 
for  them  to  proceed,  so  they  went  to  camp,  learning  later  that  Black  Hawk's 
men  were  secreted  in  the  grove.  While  these  volunteers  were  away,  Colonel 
Isaac  J.  Moores  had  been  officially  notified  by  Governor  Reynolds  to  have  his 
regiment  included  in  the  Vermilion  County  militia  in  readiness  in  case  their 
services  were  needed.  Immediately  on  the  alarm,  the  volunteers  got  in  readi- 
ness, and  Colonel  Hubbard  furnished  several  four-horse  wagons,  loaded  with 
provision,  for  their  sustenance.  This  force  consisted  of  four  hundred  mounted 
men.  Every  part  of  the  county  was  represented  by  its  best  citizens.  Colonel 
Moores  was  in  command  with  John  Murphy,  acting  as  his  aid.  The  next 
morning  as  they  reached  the  prairie  they  met  the  company  which  had  gone  to 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  147 

the  relief  of  the  settlers  returning.  The  most  of  them  went  back  to  the  seat 
of  war  with  Colonel  Moores'  regiment  and  the  others  went  on  to  Danville  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  families  and  to  return  a  little  later.  Captain  Morgan 
L.  Payne  and  his  company  were  sent  some  thirty  miles  up  the  Du  Page  river 
from  Joliet  with  instructions  to  build  a  block-house  and  protect  the  property 
which  had  been  abandoned  in  their  flight.  Colonel  Moores  also  commenced  a 
fortification  at  Joliet  when  his  command  was  ordered  to  Ottawa,  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Atkinson,  and  his  command  discharged,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Captain  Payne's  company,  allowed  to  immediately  return  home. 

Captain  Payne  built  a  block-house  and  a  fort  not  far  from  Naperville.  The 
inhabitants  of  Naperville  had  all  fled  in  great  haste.  After  the  fort  was  com- 
pleted some  seventy  women  and  children  who  had  escaped  to  Chicago  when  the 
Indians  first  made  their  attack  were  brought  back  here  for  safety  from  the 
cholera  when  it  broke  out. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  discharge  of  Colonel  Moores'  regiment  that  Cap- 
tain Payne's  command  was  also  relieved  and  they  returned  home.  There  was 
but  one  life  lost  in  this  campaign.  The  one  man  killed  was  William  Brown.  He 
went  to  Butterfield's  pasture  to  get  some  clapboards  which  had  been  left  there 
before  the  Indian  disturbances  and  was  killed  by  the  enemy  in  ambush.  Brown, 
a  young  fellow  himself,  was  accompanied  by  a  lad  of  about  fifteen  who  escaped 
injury,  and  returned  to  their  camp  near  Napersville.  The  Indians  took  the 
horses  from  the  wagon  and  led  them  away,  while  they  run  the  wagon  against 
the  tree  and  destroyed  it. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  THIRTIES  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

THE   PERMANENT   COURT   HOUSE WILLIAM    MILLIKANS'   CARDING    MILL   BUILT 

FIRST  LOG  MEETING  HOUSE  BUILT OPENING  OF  A  ROAD  FROM  FORT  CLARK 

NEWCOMERS  TO  VERMILION  COUNTY  IN  1830 REVIVAL  IN  THE  INTERESTS  OF 

MORMANISM — LAND  OFFICE CONGRESS  PETITIONED  TO  GRANT  STRIP  OF  LAND 

BETWEEN  CHICAGO  AND  VINCENNES  FOR  RAILROAD — NEWCOMERS  TO  VER- 
MILION COUNTY  IN  1831 PENNSYLVANIA  HOUSE  BUILT FIRST  NEWSPAPER 

STARTED  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY GOSHEN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  ORGANIZED — POS- 
TAL ROUTE  ESTABLISHED  FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VINCENNES NEWCOMERS  TO  VER- 
MILION COUNTY  IN  1832 BRADY  BRANCH  CORNCRACKER NEWCOMERS  IN 

1833 EXODUS   TO  WISCONSIN  LEAD  MINES NEWCOMERS  IN   1834 CHARTER 

FOR  C.  &  V.  R.  R. — CHARTER  SECURED  FOR  NORTH  CROSS  R.  R. NEWCOMERS  IN 

1835 — KIRKPATRICK'S   MILL  ON  STONY  CREEK — KYGER'S   MILL  BUILT — STATE 

BANK  CHARTERED NEWCOMERS  IN   1836 AMOS  WILLIAM'S  MILL SAWMILL 

FIRST  STEAM  SAWMILL- — R.  R.  GRADED  THROUGH  VANCE  TOWNSHIP POSTAL 

ROUTE  FROM  DANVILLE  TO  SPRINGFIELD  VIA  DECATUR POSTAL  ROUTE  FROM1 

DANVILLE  TO  OTTAWA POSTAL   ROUTE   FROM    INDIANAPOLIS  TO   DANVILLE — 

NEWCOMERS  IN   1837 GRADING  ROADBED  FROM  CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY  EAST — 

SHEPHERD'S  MILL — VERMILION  RAPIDS  PLATTED — NEWCOMERS  IN  1838 — SAW- 
MILL NORTHWEST  OF  ALVAN NEWTOWN  LAID  OUT CHRISTMAN  MILL: — NEW- 
COMERS OF  1839. 

The  claim  that  "biography  is  the  only  true  history"  holds  good  at  least  in 
the  telling  of  the  story  of  a  new  country.  Up  to  1830  the  history  of  Vermilion 
County  is  recorded  in  the  biographies  of  the  men  and  women  who  came  into  the 
wilderness  to  make  new  homes.  Events  in  these  years  were  little  less  than  direct 
expressions  of  individual  tastes  and  desires.  Men  controlled  events  in  a  greater 
degree  than  they  could  after  there  were  a  larger  number  together  with  more 
diversified  interests  and  ideas  of  life.  Each  man  was  more  a  factor  in  the 
events  than  was  the  case  when  a  larger  number  made  a  community  of  interests 
a  necessity.  So  it  is  that  by  the  time  of  the  "thirties,"  the  individual  man  was 
recording  the  history  of  the  county  in  a  series  of  events  which  more  or  less  de- 
termined his  own  history  more  than  he  was  making  it  as  a  story  of  single  lives. 
A  man  could  come  to  this  section  in  the  twenties  and  develop  a  farm  here  and 
there  to  his  credit,  tracing  the  way  to  some  other  rude  cabin  when  he  felt  the 
need  of  companionship ;  but  as  others  came  and  demanded  rights  to  comfortable 

148 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  149 

homes  he  must  divert  his  efforts  to  that  which  would  add  to  the  comfort  of  the 
many ;  he  must  divide  his  space,  and  where  the  old  trace  had  sufficed  his  needs, 
a  road  must  be  laid  out,  and  one  notes  many  changes  marking  events. 
The  county  was  growing  and  new  conditions  were  arising.  The  county 
seat  had  been  little  more  than  a  name  for  two  or  three  years.  Court  had  been 
little  better  housed  than  before  the  location  of  the  county  seat  had  been  made 
at  Danville.  The  first  court  was  held  at  Butler's  Point,  and  so  was  the  second 
term.  The  first  was  at  the  home  of  James  Butler  and  the  second  at  the  home 
of  Asa  Elliott.  The  next  term  of  court  was  held  at  the  home  of  Amos  Will- 
iams, in  Danville.  But  after  this  there  was  a  temporary  building  that  stood 
on  the  west  side  of  the  public  square  south  of  Main  street  for  a  court  house. 
This  was  the  log  house  built  by  Mr.  Reed,  which  the  county  bought  with  an  idea 
of  fitting  it  up  for  public  use.  This  was  the  first  court  house.  It  did  not 
stand  on  the  corner  of  the  plaza  where  the  bank  is  now,  but  on  the  lot  just  west 
of  this,,  where  the  Woodbury  stores  have  been  for  more  than  a  half  century. 
This  building  was  one  story  high  with  a  space  for  a  loft  above,  was  about  six- 
teen feet  square,  and  made  out  of  heavy  logs,  hewn  inside  and  out.  The  county 
sold  this  property,  lot  and  all,  to  Hezekiah  Cunningham,  who  agreed  to  provide 
them  with  a  place  to  hold  court,  etc.,  in  the  upper  story  of  the  large  frame  build- 
ing he  and  Murphy  were  erecting  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  square.  This 
building  was  on  the  lot  now  used  by  the  Illinois  Traction  system.  The  build- 
ing which  the  county  first  used  for  a  court  house,  the  first  court  house  of  Ver- 
milion County,  was  removed  after  Mr.  Cunningham  bought  it  to  a  lot  on  the 
corner  of  North  and  Hazel  streets,  where,  in  after  years,  it  was  weather- 
boarded  and  formed  the  main  building  to  which  Mr.  Farmer  put  wings.  It  re- 
mained here  until  June,  1876,  when  it  burned.  At  the  December  term  of  court,  1830, 
the  county  board  ordered  notice  to  be  given  for  the  reception  of  plans  and  bids 
for  a  permanent  court  house.  Nothing,  however,  was  done  until  the  following 
December,  when  notice  was  again  given  declaring  that  at  the  next  term  of  court 
bids  would  be  received.  A  new  departure  was  made  in  the  carding  mill  built 
by  William  Millikan  in  1820.  It  was  a  primitive  affair  run  by  treadmill.  But 
as  it  was  the  first  carding  mill  in  the  county,  it  was  patronized  by  many.  Its 
patrons  were  always  kept  waiting  until  the  oxen  which,  run  in  the  bush,  could 
be  found. 

This  mill  was  located  within  Georgetown  township,  and  to  those  living  north 
in  the  other  part  of  the  county,  it  was  a  great  undertaking  to  attempt  to  get 
any  carding  done.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that  the  first  floor  other  than  one 
made  of  puncheons,  was  put  into  Dr.  Fithian's  house.  This  house  was  the 
wonder  of  all,  it  being  the  first  "planed  floor"  ever  known  in  the  county.  The 
carpenter  was  prevailed  upon  to  let  some  of  the  leaders  among  the  young  people 
have  a  dance  in  the  new  house  before  he  turned  it  over  to  Dr.  Fithian.  This 
was  fortunate,  as  the  stern  man  would  not  have  chosen  such  a  mad  frolic  as  a 
house  warming,  and  it  would  have  been  too  bad  to  have  missed  such  a  floor  for 
dancing.  The  roads  of  the  county  had  been  a  concern  from  the  time  of  its  or- 
ganization. The  destination  of  the  most  of  these  roads  was  the  salt  works, 
and  every  road  that  did  not  go  directly  to  this  destination  was  intercepted  at 
some  point  where  it  would  turn  in  that  direction. 


150  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

An  important  road  was  opened  from  the  Fort  Clark  road  in  1830.  This  was 
opened  from  the  Fort  Clark  road,  where  it  crosses  the  west  line  of  section  25, 
T.  20  west  R.  nW. 

There  were  many  newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830.  Among  them 
are  numbered  Dennis  Olehy.  He  was  born  and  reared  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio. 
He  married  and  settled  there.  In  1830  he  determined  to  go  west  and  journeyed 
with  a  team  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  At  that  time  much  of  the  land  was 
yet  in  the  hands  of  the  government.  Mr.  Olehy  entered  a  claim  to  land,  which 
later  was  within  Danville  township.  When  he  first  came  he  put  up  a  pole 
shanty  for  temporary  shelter  until  he  could  build  a  log  cabin.  His  wife's 
father,  John  Glaze,  is  supposed  to  have  come  with  him.  Dennis  Olehy  and 
Elizabeth  (Glaze),  his  wife,  were  the  parents  of  seven  children  and  after  her 
death  in  1845,  he  married  Sarah  Ann  Jones  and  became  the  father  of  ten  more 
children. 

His  was  an  honorable  place  among  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  and  he  lived 
to  an  advanced  age.  He  died  March  2,  1877.  Robert  Price  was  another  one 
who  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830.  He  was  a  native  of  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, whose  parents  came  from  England  to  Ohio.  Robert  Price  died  in  1850. 
He  was  the  father  of  but  four  children,  only  one  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 

John  Pugh  was  from  Pennsylvania  when  he  came  to  Vermilion  County  in 
1830.  His  ancestors  were  born  and  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
for  many  generations  back.  John  Pugh  came  with  his  family  to  Vermilion 
County,  Illinois,  settling  on  the  Little  Vermilion  in  Carroll  township.  In  1836 
he  changed  his  residence  to  Elwood  township,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  He  died  at  the  old  home  in  1847  and  his  wife  lived  until  1884. 

Nathaniel  Langley  came  from  Kentucky  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830,  com- 
ing in  wagons.  He  located  in  Danville  township,  buying  seventy  acres  of  timber 
land  on  section  27.  He  built  a  log  house  and  lived  therein  for  three  years. 
Then  he  sold  that  place  and  bought  over  200  acres  on  sectionr,  26  and  27,  same 
township,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Dr.  William  Fithian  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830,  locating  at  Dan- 
ville. The  surrounding  country  was  but  sparsely  settled;  the  land  being  yet 
largely  owned  by  the  government  and  for  sale  at  $1.25  per  acre.  Dr.  Fithian 
entered  upon  a  great  practice  covering  a  large  area  that  even  extended  to  Chi- 
cago. He  entered  land  to  such  an  extent  that  he  acquired  a  fortune.  Dr.  Fithian 
was  a  politician  and  served  in  the  legislature  as  well  as  holding  more  local  offices. 
Dr.  Fithian  was  married  four  times  and  became  the  father  of  four  children. 

Luke  Dillon  was  a  native  of  Guilford  County,  N.  C,  and  came  to  Ohio  when 
seventeen  years  old  and  began  farming.  In  the  fall  of  1830  he  came  to  Ver- 
milion County  and  bought  a  farm  one  mile  north  of  Georgetown,  when  it  was  a 
wild  country.  This  was  a  large  farm  and  he  built  a  log  house  on  it  which  had 
one  room  and  a  kitchen  added.  Luke  Dillon  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  all 
of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  One  of  these  children  was  killed 
in  the  army. 

In  1830  Osborne  Hilleary,  with  his  family,  emigrated  from  Ohio  to  Illinois 
and  settled  on  section  30,  Blount  township.  They  made  the  journey  overland 
in  a  covered  wagon  or  a  prairie  schooner,  as  it  was  called.  When  they  reached 


BARKER  HOUSE  BUILT  IX  1830 


WILLIAM  BANDY  HOUSE  OX  EAST  XORTH  STREET 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  151 

their  destination  he  entered  eighty  acres  of  land  from  the  government  and  he 
also  bought  a  tract  of  timber  from  a  settler,  all  of  which  he,  with  the  help 
of  his  boys,  cleared.  His  first  home  was  in  a  log  cabin  with  a  puncheon  floor 
and  a  fireplace  along  one  end.  The  family  raised  their  own  sheep  which  they 
sheared,  and  they  then  spun  and  wove  the  wool  into  cloth  from  which  were 
made  the  garments  of  the  family.  Osborne  Hilleary  was  the  father  of  nine  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  lived  to  maturity.  He  and  his  wife  both  lived  in  Blount 
township  the  remainder  of  their  days.  Thomas  W.  Douglass  was  born  on  the 
Penobscot  river  in  Maine  and  came  to  Dearborn  County,  Indiana,  settling  near 
Rising  Sun.  He  married  Delilah  Payne,  of  New  York,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  twelve  children,  ten  of  whom  reached  mature  life.  On  coming  to 
Illinois  Mr.  Douglass  drove  through  the  black  swamps  of  Indiana  when  the 
wheels  would  sink  to  the  hubs  in  the  mud.  Several  families  came  together. 
Mr.  Douglass  entered  240  acres  of  land  on  the  section  on  which  the  county  farm 
is  located. 

The  Douglass  family  lived  in  the  double  log  house  for  thirty  years.  This 
was  the  one  he  built  when  he  first  came  here.  It  had  a  stick  and  clay  chimney, 
and  the  fire  was  lighted  with  punk  gathered  in  the  timber  and  ignited  by  means 
of  flint  and  tow.  Camp  meetings  were  held  where  the  home-made  tallow  can- 
dles furnished  light  and  the  girls  of  the  household  went,  carrying  their  shoes 
with  them,  until  they  were  near  to  the  place  of  worship  and  removing  them 
before  they  started  for  home.  Thomas  W.  Douglass  died  in  the  village  of  Cat- 
lin  in  October,  1865. 

John  Thompson  was  born  in  Erie  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1797.  He  was 
a  well  informed  man  and  taught  school  some  of  the  time.  He  came  west,  and 
in  about  1823  he  was  married  in  Dearborn  County,  Indiana,  to  Esther  Payne, 
and  in  1830  they  came  to  Vermilion  County,  settling  near  Danville  where  Mr. 
Thompson  became  the  owner  of  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  part  of  which  he 
obtained  from  the  government.  His  efforts  developed  this  into  a  valuable  farm. 
The  first  house  was  a  log  cabin  which  they  occupied  until  1844  when  they  built 
a  two  story  frame  house.  John  Thompson  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  affairs  of  the  county.  He  acquired  consid- 
erble  property.  He  served  at  one  time  as  county  commissioner.  He  was  one 
of  the  charter  members  of  the  Danville  Lodge  of  Masons  and  filled  many  of- 
fices therein.  He  died  in  1861  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  His  wife  survived 
him  until  1899,  when  she  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three.  Both  were 
buried  in  Spring  Hill  cemetery. 

Thomas  Short  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830.  He  was  not  married 
when  he  came,  but  his  future  wife  arrived  here  about  the  same  time.  They 
were  both  natives  of  Virginia.  He  was  a  very  well  educated  man  and  was  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school  at  near  Maneely's  Mill  for  some  time.  Mr.  Short  was 
elected  the  second  county  clerk  of  Vermilion  County.  He  filled  that  office  for 
twelve  years,  after  which  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming.  He  was  struck 
by  lightning,  which  disabled  him  for  business  for  several  years  before  his  death 
in  1877.  His  family  included  six  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Wallace  Sperry  came  from  Connecticut  to  Warren  County,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  a  short  time,  and  in  1830  he  went  on  further  west  coming  to  Ver- 


152  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

milion  County,  Illinois,  and  settling  near  Higginsville.  Francis  Dougherty  was 
another  newcomer  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830.  He  was  a  native  of  Maryland 
but  had  lived  in  Ohio  for  some  time  previous  to  his  coming  to  Vermilion 
County.  He  became  an  extensive  landowner  in  this  section  and  died  in  1860.  Robert 
Price  came  from  Pike  County,  Ohio,  crossing  the  country  in  wagons.  He  was  yet  in 
time  in  his  coming  in  1830  to  suffer  the  privations  of  pioneer  life.  He  died  in  1850. 
He  was  the  father  of  four  children.  James  Rees  was  one  of  the  band  of  Friends 
who  did  so  much  for  the  moral  uplift  of  the  county  in  its  formative  state.  He 
came  in  1830  and  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  He  commenced  the  nursery  busi- 
ness in  1854  and  did  much  for  the  improvement  of  this  section.  He  compiled 
a  valuable  history  of  that  section,  but  it  never  was  put  in  print  and  his  son 
carried  it  to  his  western  home  and  lost  it  in  a  fire.  'Mr.  Rees  was  the  father 
of  eight  children.  He  taught  school  for  ten  years. 

Alexander  Church  came  from  Virginia  in  1830  and  farmed  Mr.  Caraway's 
land  for  a  while  when  he  bought  land  in  section  28.  This  was  the  school  sec- 
tion which  has  been  given  in  lieu  of  the  salient  section  16.  Congress  gave  all 
of  section  16  to  the  state  for  school  purposes,  but  another  law  reserved  all 
saline  lands  to  the  state.  The  saline  section  had  been  taken  possession  of  by 
the  men  who  were  making  salt  and  living  there,  hence  this  section  was  given  in 
lieu  of  it.  John  Boggess  took  up  land  in  sections  29  and  30  in  1830.  He  made 
a  good  farm  and  continued  to  live  there  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1875.  Mr. 
Boggess  came  from  Monroe  County,  Virginia.  He  was  married  in  Greenbrier 
County  of  the  same  state  to  Jane  Gillespie  McCorkle.  He  came  with  his  wife 
and  family  of  small  children  to  Vermilion  County  and  stopped  at  Brooks  Point 
for  a  short  time.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Boggess  were  the  parents  of  eleven  chil- 
dren. Six  of  these  children  were  born  before  they  left  Virginia.  One  died  in 
young  manhood.  Five  of  them  were  born  in  Vermilion  County,  and  all  but  the 
three  mentioned  lived  to  have  families  of  their  own.  Mr.  Boggess  and  his  wife 
were  both  buried  in  Oakridge  Cemetery.  Of  Mr.  Boggess'  children  the  eldest 
was  William,  who  died  young;  Diana,  who  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Griffith 
an  dthe  mother  of  four  children ;  Rebecca,  who  became  the  wife  of  William  Ray. 
the  brother  of  Dr.  Ray;  Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife  of  Butler;  Harvey,  who 
married  the  daughter  of  Harvey  White  and  was  the  father  of  four  boys ;  Charles, 
who  married  Huldah  Patterson  and  became  the  father  of  two  children;  America, 
who  became  the  wife  of  James  Davis  and  the  mother  of  two  children ;  Enoch, 
who  was  married  three  times  and  the  father  of  nine  children ;  Melissa,  who  died 
early,  and  Julia  who  died  in  infancy,  and  John  W.,  who  married  Valura  B.  Piper 
and  became  the  father  of  four  children,  two  of  who  died  while  small. 

John  A.  Church  was  a  baby  of  but  three  years  when  his  father  brought  him 
to  Vermilion  County  in  1830.  He  lived  all  his  life  within  three  miles  of  the 
farm  upon  which  the  family  settled.  His  mother  was  Ruth  Caraway,  the 
daughter  of  Charles  Caraway.  Rev.  John  Villars  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Vermilion  County,  coming  in  1830.  His  parents  were  strong  Methodists,  and 
he  was  licensed  to  exhort  in  1823.  This  was  in  Ohio.  In  1830  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois to  Vermilion  County  and  settled  about  four  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Dan- 
ville. In  1833  he  was  licensed  by  the  M.  E.  church  to  preach,  but  in  1838  he 
left  that  church  and  joined  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  in  which  church  he 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  153 

labored  until  his  death  in  1858  as  a  minister.  In  1852  he  went  to  Wisconsin, 
and  remained  for  five  years,  but  returned  in  1857.  He  then  went  to  Nebraska, 
where  he  died  the  following  year.  Mr.  Villars  laid  out  one  of  the  abandoned 
towns  of  the  county,  platted  under  the  name  of  Shepherds  town. 

The  missionaries  of  the  Mormon  church  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1831 
to  get  converts.  They  did  their  work  in  Newell  township,  and  had  some  suc- 
cess. This  faith  had  but  just  been  established  the  year  before  this,  through 
a  claimed  revelation  made  to  Joseph  Smith  in  Ontario  County,  New  York.  The 
missionaries  sent  to  Newell  township  were  Orson  and  Parley  Pratt.  The  former 
afterward  became  a  prominent  leader  in  the  church  at  Salt  Lake,  although  while 
here,  Parley  was  the  better  one  of  the  two.  The  center  of  the  operations  of 
these  two  missionaries  was  in  Blount  township.  The  first  preaching  place  they 
made  was  at  the  house  of  Olive  Miller.  Afterward  they  occupied  the  Eckler's 
school  house,  and  made  appointments  at  Harrison  Oliver's  and  John  Chandler's. 
The  wife  of  the  latter  was  a  sister  to  Swinford,  who  was  a  preacher  in  the 
faith,  and  she  favored  it  while  her  husband  neither  approved  or  disapproved 
of  the  doctrine.  They  had  a  number  of  followers,  among  whom  were  Elders 
Sherer,  George  Morey,  Coon,  Packard,  Jackoway,  and  others  whose  names  are 
not  now  available.  In  preaching,  these  Mormons  called  themselves  the  children 
of  the  Kingdom  and  they  made  pretence  of  healing  the  sick  and  even  went  so 
far  as  to  say  they  could  raise  the  dead.  They,  however,  made  no  demonstration 
of  that  power.  Consider  Scott  was  among  their  converts,  being  one  of  the 
very  first.  Harrison  Oliver,  Louis  Neely  and  Olive  Miller  all  were  converts 
to  the  doctrine  and,  taking  their  families,  went  to  Independence  with  the  mis- 
sionaries when  they  left  Newell  township.  A  number  of  their  converts  would 
not  go  with  them,  however. 

In  1831  the  inconvenience  of  having  the  Land  Office  so  far  away  had  be- 
come so  great  as  to  make  some  effort  to  change  it  imperative.  Steps  were 
taken  to  memoralize  the  governor  to  secure  the  location  of  a  Land  Office  at 
Danville.  This  was  secured,  the  district  being  created  by  an  act  of  February  19, 
1831.  Francis  Prince  was  made  the  first  register  and  his  commission  was 
dated  March  2,  1831.  Samuel  McRoberts  was  the  first  register  and  his  commis- 
sion bore  the  same  date.  He  remained  receiver  until  1840,  having  second  com- 
mission dated  March  4,  1835,  and  February  u,  1839.  John  C.  Alexander  was 
commissioned  register  with  dates  of  November  5,  1833,  June  12,  1834,  and  May 
26,  1838.  Stinson  H.  Anderson  was  sent  a  commission  as  receiver  of  money 
dated  June  10,  1840,  but  he  declined  it.  Thomas  Jones  was  then  appointed 
receiver,  his  commission  being  dated,  July  27,  1840,  but  he,  too,  declined  to 
serve.  Then  Lunsford  R.  Noel  was  appointed  and  sent  a  commission  bearing 
date  of  October  20,  1840,  and  another  December  29,  1840.  He  was  commis- 
sioned again  February  21,  1845,  and  once  more  on  December  21,  1848.  He  had 
held  this  position  for  nine  years.  John  Vance  was  commissioned  register, 
August  25,  1841,  and  William  E.  Russell  followed  him,  receiving  his  commission 
dated  August  i,  1845.  Daniel  Clapp  was  commissioned  register,  July  12,  1849, 
and  John  H.  Murphy  was  commissioned  receiver  September  20,  1848,  and 
again  September  2,  1850,  the  same  date  as  the  commission  of  Daniel  Clapp  as 
register.  William  E.  Russell  was  the  last  man  commissioned  as  receiver  and 


154  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

his  commission  was  dated  March  30,  1853.  Richard  S.  Malony  was  commis- 
sioned register  March  28,  1853.  William  P.  Davis  was  comimssioned  register, 
January  20,  1854,  and  John  N.  Drake  had  the  last  commission  for  that  place, 
his  bearing  date  of  July  24,  and  January  6,  1856.  The  office  was  discontinued 
December  16,  1856,  it  having  been  in  operation  for  twenty-five  years. 

By  this  time  there  were  plans  of  many  kinds  to  increase  the  facilities  for 
travel.  Since  the  main  dependence  was  the  waterways,  every  possible  improve- 
ment of  them  was  sought.  There  were  many  suggestions  made  to  improve 
navigation  of  the  Big  Vermilion  and  the  Danville  people  tried  to  slackwater  it 
but  that  was  found  to  be  impossible  and  so  Vermilion  County  petitioned  Con- 
gress, as  early  as  1831,  to  grant  a  strip  of  land  between  Vincennes  and  Chicago 
for  a  railroad.  Citizens  of  other  counties  joined  them  but  it-  was  of  no  practical 
help  in  solving  the  problem  of  transportation  throughout  the  state.  It  was  many 
a  long  year  before  a  railroad  was  to  run  between  Chicago  and  Vincennes. 

There  were  many  newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  in  1831.  One  of  them  was 
Reuben  Partlow,  who  came  from  Kentucky  and  located  in  Danville.  He  was 
a  wheelright  and  cooper  and  lived  in  Danville  working  at  his  trade  for  a  time, 
but  at  last  took  up  a  claim  in  Newell  township,  upon  which  he  built  a  log  house. 
Mr.  Partlow  remained  there  but  a  year  when  he  disposed  of  his  claim  and  re- 
turned to  Danville,  where  he  followed  his  trade  for  a  time  and  later  took  up 
a  claim  on  the  Middlefork.  His  market  was  in  Chicago  and  at  one  time  he 
took  a  half  barrel  of  honey  and  supplied  the  whole  town,  returning  with  a 
good  portion  of  it.  He  lived  on  the  farm  on  the  Middlefork  until  1853,  when 
again  he  returned  to  Danville  where  he  spent  his  remaining  days.  He  died  in 
1866. 

Aaron  Dalbey  was  another  who  came  in  this  year.  His  home,  just  before 
he  came  to  Illinois,  was  in  Randolph  County,  Indiana.  He  bought  the  farm 
afterward  owned  by  George  Jones  and  later  bought  three  hundred  acres  of 
land  on  what  was  the  well  known  John  McFarland  farm.  He  lived  there  all 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  prominent  citizen  and  built  the  mill  on 
the  Salt  Fork.  He  was  three  times  married,  having  five  children  by  the  first, 
two  by  the  second  and  four  by  the  third  wife.  Mr.  Dalbey  died  in  1855. 

Asa  Folger  came  from  North  Carolina  to  settle  in  the  Elwood  neighborhood. 
He  was  a  tanner  and  shoemaker  and  he  did  this  work  for  the  settlers  for  miles 
around.  Some  times  his  business  was  so  rushing  that  he  employed  four  or 
five  men.  He  was  one  of  the  best  of  men.  He  belonged  to  the  Society  of 
Friends  and  was,  as  were  so  many  of  these  best  of  people,  an  influence  for 
good  to  all  who  knew  him.  He  died  in  1850  and  his  wife,  in  1880. 

Another  force  in  the  development  of  the  county  was  Joseph  Smith,  who 
came  in  1831.  He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  his  father  brought  him 
to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  in  the  latter  part  of  this  year  of  1831,  having 
spent  a  short  time  in  Elmira,  New  York,  and  yet  some  more  time  in  Chicago 
before  coming  here.  They  bought  a  small  farm  near  Potomac,  but  they  dis- 
posed of  this  property  in  a  few  years  and  moved  to  Myersville,  this  county,  and 
took  charge  of  the  old  water  mill  at  that  place.  After  running  the  same  for 
several  years  Mr.  Smith  became  a  resident  of  Danville  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  John  L.  Tincher.  They  bought  a  flour  and  hominy  mill,  but  Mr.  Tincher 


C.  E.  LORING 


JAMES    A.    DICK  SON 


JOHN   PEARSON 


J.  M.  DOUGLASS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  155 

soon  sold  his  share  to  Mr.  Giddings  and  the  mill  was  afterward  conducted 
under  the  name  of  Smith  and  Giddings.  A  strange  thing  was  connected  with 
this  partnership  and  mill,  since  both  men  died  and  the  building  burned  within 
the  one  year. 

Reece  Cook  came  from  Indiana  in  1831  and  first  settled  at  Grate  Creek,  but 
afterward  went  five  miles  northwest  of  Danville.  He  was  married  after  he 
came  here  to  Miss  Hartly,  whose  parents  came  the  year  before. 

Harvey  Cloe  came  from  Kentucky  and  settled  in  Georgetown  township.  He 
married  Miss  Eslinger,  a  native  of  Vermilion  County.  They  lived  in  the  same 
home  until  after  her  death,  when  he  married  Miss  Colwell  for  his  second  wife. 
While  there  had  been  a  log  house  on  the  rear  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  House 
property  built  by  Bluford  Runyen  in  1828,  this  at  one  time  famous  tavern  was 
begun  and  completed  in  1832  by  Samuel  J.  Russell.  This  building  was  on  the 
west  side  of  Vermilion  street  about  half  way  between  Main  street  and  the  first 
street  north.  It  was  a  good  house  for  its  times  and  competed  with  the  Mc- 
Cormick  House  in  caring  for  the  traveling  public. 

The  first  newspaper  was  started  in  the  county  in  1832.  William  Delay  is 
said  to  have  been  its  editor  at  that  time.  Whether  his  term  of  editorship  came 
at  so  early  a  date  is  but  a  matter  of  memory  and,  should  the  date  be  an  error, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  editor  of  it  at  a  very  early  period  in  its  history. 
William  Delay  was  a  man  typical  of  the  times.  With  sympathy  all  with  the 
southern  states  and  the  institution  of  that  section,  he  looked  forward  to  that 
institution  being  extended  into  the  territories,  and  even  had  a  hope  that  Illinois 
should  become  a  slave  state  and  to  that  end  put  forth  every  influence.  He  was 
courageous  and  reckless,  a  man  of  strong  will  and  ready  effort.  His  brother  was 
of  the  same  stamp,  and  together  they  joined  the  Mounted  Rangers  and  took 
part  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  serving  in  protecting  the  section  about  their  camp 
in  Vermilion  County  after  the  war  was  ended.  In  1845  ^r-  Delay  moved  to 
Oxford,  Miss.,  where  he  became  a  leader  in  political  affairs.  He  was  sent  as  a 
delegate  to  the  Charleston  convention  in  1860.  He  was  a  shrewd  politician, 
and  understood  the  conditions  in  the  country;  it  is  said  that  upon  his  return  he 
predicted  the  downfall  of  his  party  and  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  also  the  following  Civil  War.  Mr.  Delay 
afterward  became  captain  of  a  company  in  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  Confed- 
erate army. 

The  year  1832  marks  the  beginning  of  the  Goshen  Baptist  church.  Although 
the  organization  was  made  in  this  year,  services  were  held  in  private  families, 
and  at  the  Davis  school-house,  and  the  Stearns  school-house  for  three  years 
before  a  church  building  was  put  up.  As  was  the  case  in  almost  all  the  other 
churches  of  this  denomination  in  the  county,  Elder  Freeman  Smalley  and  Elder 
G.  W.  Riley  were  the  leaders.  Benjamin  Smalley  was  the  preacher  in  this 
church  for  many  years.  It  was  in  1832  that  the  Black  Hawk  war  called  forth 
many  of  the  men  of  Vermilion  County.  The  fact  that  Black  Hawk  had  re- 
turned to  Illinois  was  known  only  to  those  who  read  the  Springfield  papers,  or 
took  their  news  second  hand,  and  the  citizens  of  Vermilion  County  had  but  vague 
rumors  of  the  impending  trouble,  until  one  morning  when  church  service  was 
disturbed  with  a  cry  of  the  stranger  who  came  into  Danville  shouting  "The  In- 


156  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

dians!  The  Indians!"  This  church  service  was  conducted  by  Rev.  Kingsbury  in 
the  room  of  the  second  story  of  the  Cunningham  store,  where  it  was  accustomed 
to  be  held.  It  was  broken  up  while  the  stranger  told  his  tale  of  Indian  cruelties 
feared  by  the  people  of  the  sparsely  settled  northern  Illinois.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  Fox  River  country  and  Hickory  Creek  were  fleeing  from  their  homes 
through  fear  of  the  dreaded  enemy.  They  drove  their  cattle  and  other  stock 
before  them  and  some  bareheaded  and  others  barefooted  hurried  on  to  Dan- 
ville. Then  the  report  of  Stillman's  defeat  came,  and  all  sorts  of  rumors  made 
the  certainty  of  the  Indians  coming  down  upon  this  section,  killing,  burning  and 
destroying  in  every  direction  a  reasonable  fear.  .At  any  cost  the  flying  fugitives 
must  be  relieved  at  once  from  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  A  call  was  made  at 
once  for  a  forlorn  force  to  go  to  their  assistance.  In  less  than  two  hours  there 
were  thirty  men  volunteered  to  go  and  by  three  o'clock  in  the  afternon  were 
on  their  way,  under  the  leadership  of  Dan  Beckwith  as  captain.  Immediately 
the  Vermilion  County  iMilitia  were  concentrated  at  Danville  and  put  upon  the 
march.  Every  part  of  the  county  was  represented  in  this  body  by  many  of  its 
best  citizens,  Col.  Hubbard  among  the  number,  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Moores,  with  John  H.  Murphy  acting  as  his  aide.  The  year  after  the  war  was 
over  those  of  Vermilion  County  who  were  in  the  Illinois  Rangers  went  into  camp 
near  Danville,  awaiting  release,  and  the  effects  of  this  part  taken  by  this  county 
in  this  war  were  felt  for  some  time. 

In  1832  the  postal  route  was  established  from  Chicago  to  Vincennes  by  way 
of  Danville.  The  wagon  road  had  taken  the  place  of  the  old  trail,  and  along 
this  road  the  mail  was  now  to  be  carried  three  times  per  week.  Among  the 
newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  during  this  year  are  to  be  reckoned  the  follow- 
ing: Harvey  Stearns,  John  Dicken,  Daniel  P.  Huffman,  John  B.  Hildreth,  John 
Brady,  Francis  Dougherty,  Joseph  Richardson,  Jesse  Smith,  Abraham  Mann, 
Sr.,  John  Newlon,  George  W.  Wolf,  John  Pearson,  James  IWalters,  J.  K.  Richie, 
Thomas  F.  Collison,  Henry  Oakwood,  John  Kyger,  Aaron  Dalbey,  Jesse  Davis, 
William  Fisher  and  David  Fisher. 

Harvey  Stearns  was  born  in  Vermont,  but  went  to  New  York,  where  he 
lived  until  after  his  marriage  with  Miss  Fannie  Lockwood.  Together  they  went 
to  Ohio  in  1814,  where  he  bought  a  small  farm  and  remained  on  it  until  1832, 
when  he  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  He  reached  here  after  the  govern- 
ment had  stationed  troops  to  protect  the  settlement  from  the  Indians.  Mr. 
Stearns  was  the  father  of  eight  children.  He  died  in  1847  and  his  wife  sur- 
vived him  until  1877.  His  son  Alvan  was  sixteen  years  old  when  he  came  into 
the  county  and  he  walked  all  the  way  from  Ohio  driving  cows,  sheep  and  hogs. 
His  younger  brother,  Calvin,  walked  with  him.  Living  sixteen  miles  from  Dan- 
ville the  young  man  was  often  obliged  to  go  that  distance  to  call  a  ph'ysician 
after  night.  Their  market  was  Chicago  and  many  times  he  drove  there  to  sell 
his  wheat  and  bring  back  groceries  and  other  supplies.  Mr.  Stearns  was  greatly 
trusted  by  men,  as  is  shown  by  his  having  been  made  assessor  and  collector  for 
many  years,  as  well  as  having  administered  a  number  of  estates.  Among  the 
estates  which  he  administered  are  to  be  numbered  those  of  his  father  and  father- 
in-law,  Mr.  Lee,  also  Aaron  Hardin,  William  Clutter,  Alfred  Hardin  and  the 
immense  estate  of  Mr.  Yount. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  157 

John  C.  Dicken's  father,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  came  to  Coleman's  Prairie, 
Vermilion  County,  Indiana,  and  was  the  third  settler  there.  His  son,  John  C. 
Dicken,  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  in  1832,  and  settled  in  Elwood 
township.  There  he  married  Hannah,  the  daughter  of  William  Golden.  They 
were  the  parents  of  ten  children.  Mr.  Dicken  moved  to  Georgetown  in  1853 
and  in  the  following  fall  he  went  on  to  Ridge  Farm.  He  put  up  a  store  and 
carried  on  general  merchandise  for  several  years.  He  then  went  to  Newman 
and  built  the  first  store  in  that  place.  He  sold  goods  there  two  years,  then  re- 
turned to  Ridge  Farm,  where  he  died  in  1873.  His  wife  died  thirteen  years 
before  him. 

Daniel  P.  Huffman  came  from  Kentucky  in  the  fall  of  1832  and  settled  in 
Newell  township,  and  the  family  homestead  did  not  pass  into  strange  hands  at 
his  death,  which  was  the  case  with  too  many  of  the  early  settlers,  farms.  Mr. 
Huffman  did  not  live  to  make  much  of  a  farm,  since  his  death  took  place  within 
four  years.  His  wife  survived  him  twenty-one  years.  Since  there  was  no  bury- 
ing ground  within  ten  miles,  the  parents  were  both  buried  on  the  farm,  in  a 
pleasant  place,  a  few  yards  from  the  residence. 

John  Brady  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  his  wife  of  Ohio,  where  he  took  up 
his  residence  and  remained  until  1832.  At  that  time  he  came  west  and  took  up 
land  in  Danville  township.  Here  they  were  among  the  early  settlers,  and  they 
lived  the  remainder  of  their  lives  at  this  place.  Mrs.  Brady  died  in  1848  and 
Mr.  Brady  survived  her  until  1855. 

Francis  Dougherty  was  the  master  of  both  the  trades  of  shoemaker  and 
stone-mason,  so  that  in  coming  to  Vermilion  County  in  1832  he  found  much 
need  of  work  in  both  lines.  He  lived  in  Vermilion  County  until  his  death  in 
1860.  He  was  born  in  Maryland.  His  wife,  Christian,  died  in  1851  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety-one  years.  When  Mr.  Dougherty  came  to  Vermilion 
County  in  1832  he  settled  on  the  Little  Vermilion  river  in  Carroll  township, 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  where  Indianola  is  now  located,  where 
he  stayed  over  winter,  and  then  bought  land  from  the  government  one  mile  north 
of  where  Fairmount  is.  Of  their  family  of  children,  Samuel  Dougherty  mar- 
ried Jane  Dalbey,  the  daughter  of  Aaron  Dalbey. 

Aaron  Dalbey  also  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1832.  His  first  wife  and  the 
mother  of  Jane  Dalbey  was  Christina,  and  at  her  death  was  the  mother  of  five 
children.  Mr.  Dalbey's  second  wife  was  Nancy  Kizer  and  his  third  wife  was 
Henrietta  Catlin.  Jesse  Smith  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  migrated  to  Ten- 
nessee at  an  early  age.  Thence  he  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1832  and  settled 
on  section  18.  He  was  a  tanner  and  a  farmer.  His  first  entry  of  land  con- 
sisted of  160  acres,  which  he  added  to  from  time  to  time.  His  produce,  to  find 
a  good  market,  had  to  be  taken  to  Chicago.  At  that  time  the  best  price  was  $1.50 
per  hundred  for  pork  and  a  good  cow  would  be  sold  for  not  more  than  $10. 

Abraham  Mann,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  who  made  a  lasting  impress 
on  the  county.  He  came  in  1832  and  made  his  way  into  the  interior  of  Illinois, 
here  to  bear  an  important  part  in  making  the  county.  Although  coming  directly 
from  England  Mr.  Mann  did  not  come  without  some  knowledge  of  conditions 
in  the  new  world.  His  father  had  been  in  the  Mississippi  valley  during  his  early 
manhood  and  had  then  gone  to  spend  his  last  years  in  England.  He  had  doubt- 


158  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

less  told  his  son  of  life  on  this  side  of  the  water  and  made  him  familiar  with 
conditions  of  living  here. 

Mr.  John  Mann,  the  father,  came  to  America  while  yet  it  was  counted  among 
the  colonial  possessions  of  Great  Britain.  He  came  in  the  interest  of  a  London 
firm  dealing  in  paints  and  oils,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  located  first  in 
New  Orleans^and  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the  Mississippi  valley  when  but 
few  settlements  had  been  made  on  either  side  of  the  great  river.  Passing  up  the 
Mississippi  in  a  canoe,  he  went  as  far  north  as  the  St.  Anthony  Falls  (later 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul),  trading  with  the  Indians  alpd  shipping  his  cargoes 
down  the  river  to  New  Orleans.  After  the  Revolution,  Congress  gave  him 
grants  of  land  in  Louisana  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thousand  acres,  to  compen- 
sate him  for  the  losses  he  had  suffered  because  of  the  war.  Later,  after  Amer- 
ica was  no  longer  one  of  the  British  colonies,  Mr.  Mann  returned  to  London 
where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Abraham  Mann,  Sr.,  his  son,  was  born 
in  Leighton-Buzzard,  Bedfordshire,  England,  October  4,  1785.  Determining 
to  make  the  new  world  his  home,  he  sailed,  with  his  family,  for  the  United 
States,  taking  passage  at  Liverpool  on  a  sailing  vessel  which,  after  a  voyage  of 
seven  weeks,  reached  the  harbor  of  New  York.  He  was  in  company  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Joseph  Smith,  and  they  made  their  way  by  way  of  the  Great 
Lakes  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  where  they  bought  saddle  horses  and  rode  across 
the  country  to  Danville,  Illinois,  settling  near  Danville,  which  was  at  that  time 
but  a  small  town.  For  miles  just  beyond  the  timber  about  Danville,  the  great 
prairie  stretched,  most  of  it  yet  belonging  to  the  government.  Mr.  Mann  en- 
tered a  claim  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  which  he  built  a  pioneer  house 
of  logs.  He  entered  land  from  time  to  time,  until  when  he  died  he  had  an  estate 
of  five  thousand  acres  to  leave  to  his  children.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  all  that 
Mr.  Mann  did  for  Vermilion  County.  He  was  a  power  in  the  advancement  of 
the  county,  both  in  the  business  efforts  he  put  forth  in  Danville,  and  the  im- 
petus he  gave  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  county.  He  was  very  prominent 
in  public  affairs  and  was  in  sympathy  with  and  promoter  of  every  measure 
tending  to  make  a  firm  foundation  for  the  development  of  the  county  as  yet  in 
its  infancy.  The  vast  estate  near  Rossville  is  a  monument  to  his  thrift  and 
longsightedness,  and  the  neat  little  brick  church,  well  known  as  the  Mann  Chapel, 
made  from  brick  which  he  himself  burned,  is  equally  a  monument  to  his  interest 
in  the  general  welfare  along  moral,  as  well  as  intellectual  and  social  lines.  Mr. 
Mann's  wife  died  seven  years  after  he  left  England  and  was  buried  in  the  pri- 
vate burial  grounds,  and  he  died  in  1875  and  was  buried  by  her  side. 

J.  J.  K.  Richie  came  to  Georgetown  with  his  mother  and  grandfather,  a 
lad  of  six  years,  in  1832.  His  father  died  when  he  was  a  baby.  They  wintered 
in  Georgetown  and  in  the  spring  moved  to  a  farm  southeast  of  the  village. 
This  was  his  home  only  a  short  time  and  during  his  boyhood  he  changed  resi- 
dence several  times.  When  he  was  old  enough  to  take  care  of  himself,  how- 
ever, he  settled  in  the  county  and  spent  his  manhood  in  the  place  where  he 
was  brought  by  his  grandfather  when  a  boy.  John  Pearson  was  born  in  Avon, 
New  York,  and  began  his  connection  with  Vermilion  County  when  he  was  thirty 
years  old.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  and  had  read  law  with 
Judge  George  Hosmer  while  yet  living  in  Avon.  He  came  west,  locating  in 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  159 

Ravenna,  Ohio,  for  a  time,  but  later  started  for  a  more  favorable  place  to  prac- 
tice his  profession.  He  started  for  Chicago,  but  stopped  at  Detroit  to  visit 
friends.  At  that  place  he  took  a  sailing  vessel  for  Chicago,  reaching  his  desti- 
nation early  in  June,  1832.  He  found  conditions  such  that  it  was  not  safe  to 
stay  there  unless  he  remained  in  the  fort,  and  that  Danville  was  the  nearest 
place  of  perfect  safety,  there  being  a  company  of  rangers  stationed  there,  so 
he  came  here  on  horseback  to  look  at  the  town.  During  his  absence  the  first 
steamer  arrived  at  Chicago,  bringing  Scott's  troops,  but  as  well  bringing  the 
cholera,  and  a  regular  exodus  was  made  from  Fort  Dearborn.  Mr.  Pearson's 
family  was  taken  from  the  fort  and  taken  to  the  summit,  there  to  await  his  return. 
He  took  a  wagon  back  and  brought  them  to  Danville,  where  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  He  was  appointed  by  the  legislature  to  the  office  of  Circuit  Judge, 
his  circuit  being  Cook,  Will,  Iroquois,  DuPage  and  DeKalb  counties.  This 
took  him  to  Joliet  for  his  home  and  later  other  business  caused  him  to  locate 
in  New  York  city.  But  his  interests  were  in  the  west,-  and  he  left  the  east, 
making  the  long  trip  to  California,  where  he  had  many  experiences,  and  finally 
returned  to  Danville,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  years.  Judge  Pearson  died 
in  1875. 

Henry  G.  Boyce  came  to  Vermilion  County  with  his  father  from  Ohio, 
being  a  native  of  New  York  state.  He  began  working  as  a  carpenter  in  the 
then  small  town  of  Danville  for  Mr.  Beckwith  and  Gov.  Leander  Rutledge. 
Mr.  Boyce  was  married  to  Eliza  J.  Potter  in  March,  1833,  and  lived  on  Wal- 
nut street,  where  their  oldest  child  was  born.  In  1833  Mr.  Boyce  went  to 
Chicago,  where  he  was  soon  joined  by  the  father,  brother  and  brother-in-law 
of  Mrs.  Boyce,  who  all  together  dug  the  cellar  for  the  first  brick  house  ever 
built  in  Chicago.  /When  he  went  there,  there  were  but  two  houses  between 
Danville  and  Chicago.  He  remained  in  Chicago  that  summer  that  he  might 
earn  money  to  pay  his  taxes,  and  then  returned  to  Danville  where  he  bought 
land  along  Walnut  street.  Mr.  Boyce  was  kept  busy  putting  up  houses  in 
Danville  and  worked  faithfully  at  his  trade  1850,  and  in  1856  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  at  Danville.  He  served  until  the  incoming  of  President 
Lincoln,  and  then  later  during  President  Johnson's  term.  He  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church.  He  died  in  1873. 

Henry  Oakwood  was  the  founder  of  a  family  in  Vermilion  County  which 
is  at  the  same  time  large  and  well  esteemed.  He  came  to  the  county  in  1833.  He 
was  a  man  of  very  genial  temperament ;  was  strong,  athletic  and  kept  himself 
well  posted  in  the  affairs  of  the  times.  He  had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Rev.  Michael  Oakwood  was  the  son  of  Henry  Oakwood  and  was 
a  well  known  preacher  in  the  Methodist  church  in  an  early  day.  As  a  young  man 
of  twenty-seven  Samuel  Frazier  came  to  Vermilion  County,  in  1833.  He 
located  on  the  tract  of  land  two  miles  northwest  of  what  is  now  Catlin,  but 
then  was  a  lonely  prairie.  He  was  born  in  Ohio,  but  spent  his  years  of  growth 
in  Dearborn  County,  Indiana.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  he  started 
out  for  himself,  trying  flat-boating  and  steam-boating,  and  in  1824  was  in 
Natchez  about  the  time  of  the  visit  made  the  United  States  by  Gen.  LaFayette.  Mr. 
Frazier  married  Miss  Beulah  Ann  Finley,  and  spent  two  years  or  more  in  In- 
diana. In  the  fall  of  1833  he  bought  200  acres  of  land  in  Vermilion  County, 


160  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Illinois,  and  set  to  work  to  improve  this  property.  When  Mr.  Frazier  reached 
this  county,  Danville  was  a  little  town  of  only  400  or  500,  but  it  was  the  county 
seat,  and  a  courthouse  was  built.  Mr.  Frazier  worked  on  the  farm  improve- 
ments, and  after  remaining  there  two  years  he  sold  out  for  $1.000,  but  after- 
ward raised  another  crop  on  the  same  land.  He  then  moved  into  Danville, 
settling  on  Vermilion  street,  between  Main  and  North  streets,  where  he  lived 
until  he  bought  land  on  Main  street.  He  conducted  a  hotel  one  year,  then 
bought  property  on  Main  street,  where  he  built  a  large  brick  block,  extending 
from  the  courthouse  to  Hazel  street,  and  known  as  the  Frazier  block.  He 
lived  there  for  25  years,  keeping  his  hotel  for  five  years  of  that  time.  He  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Vermilion  County  in  1840  and  held  the  office  for  eight  years, 
being  the  third  man  elected  to  that  office.  Upon  retiring  from  this  office  he 
began  buying  cattle  and  made  many  a  trip  driving  them  through  to  Chicago, 
when  the  country  was  all  open  prairie. 

Mr.  Frazier  was  one  of  the  early  merchants,  being  the  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Frazier,  Lamm  &  Company  for  two  years,  at  which  time  Mr.  Lamm 
withdrew  and  the  firm  name  became  Frazier  &  Gessie,  (the  latter  his  son-in- 
law).  Another  two  years  and  he  assumed  the  entire  charge  of  the  business, 
and  no  further  change  was  made  for  about  ten  years.  At  that  time  the  war 
of  the  rebellion  broke  out  and  Mr.  Frazier,  who  was  fully  imbued  with  the 
Union  sentiments,  raised  the  first  company  of  men  in  the  county.  Capt.  Frazier 
and  his  company,  which  was  assigned  to  the  1 2th 'Infantry,  went  to  Cairo  and 
served  three  months,  after  which  they  were  sent  home.  Capt.  Frazier  there- 
after attended  to  his  business  interests.  He  was  a  large  land  owner  and  was  one 
of  the  first  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank,  and  he  was  interested  in  most  of 
the  enterprises  tending  to  build  up  the  town.  Capt.  Frazier  was  the  father  of  twelve 
children,  but  of  these  only  five  lived  to  maturity.  The  eldest  son,  Edwajrd, 
entered  the  army,  was  taken  ill  and  coming  home,  died  ten  days  afterward, 
at  which  time  he  was  but  nineteen  years  old;  Angeline,  became  the  wife  of 
Jas.  H.  Phillips ;  Mary  F.  became  the  wife  of  M.  A.  Lapham ;  Florence,  be- 
came the  wife  of  W.  W.  Phillips,  and  De  Witt  C.  the  youngest  child.  Mr. 
Frazier  died  September  26,  1891. 

William  E.  Russell  was  a  native  of  Middletown,  Connecticut.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant in  the  east  and  when  he  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1833  he  engaged 
in  the  same  business  in  Danville.  He  also  was  in  the  loan  and  land  business 
to  a  limited  extent.  He  was  a  democrat  and  prominent  in  public  affairs.  Alex- 
ander P.  Chesley  came  to  Vermilion  County  about  this  time.  After  coming  to 
Danville  he  was  at  one  time  appointed  postmaster.  James  Duncan  came  to 
Vermilion  County  with  his  family  of  boys  and  located  near  the  state  line.  After 
his  son  Darius  went  to  work  for  himself,  he  bought  and  fed,  and  afterward] 
sold  cattle  and  other  stock,  until  he  became  a  man  of  wealth.  His  operations 
in  the  line  of  dealer  in  stock  became  enlarged  to  the  extent  that  he  was  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  extensive  buyers  in  Illinois.  He  bought  cattle  and 
hogs  and  horses  and  sheep  and  shipped  them  to  Chicago  and  the  eastern  markets. 
He  invested  his  money  in  land  and  constantly  increased  his  wealth  until  he 
became  burdened  with  responsibilities.  In  1865  he  sold  one  farm  for  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  and  moved  to  Danville.  Later  he  sold  another  farm  for 


SOLOMON*  (ilLBEUT 


SAMTEL     FUAZIER 


WILLIAM    I.   ALLEN- 


THOMAS  C.  FORBES 


LEVIX    T.    I'ALMER 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  161 

twelve  thousand  dollars.  He  invested  this  money  in  property  in  Danville. 
Here  he  continued  shipping  stock  for  some  time,  but  at  last  he  was  no  longer 
able  for  the  exertion  and  lived  a  retired  life.  Mr.  Duncan  was  twice  married, 
his  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  James  Newell,  the  man  for  whom  Newell 
township  was  named.  He  had  several  children  by  this  marriage,  and  after 
the  death  of  his  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Caldwell  from  near  Potomac.  They  had 
two  sons.  Mr.  Duncan  died  in  1893  and  left  a  good  property  for  his  widow. 
She  survived  him  seventeen  years,  during  which  time  everything  was  lost.  Mrs. 
Duncan  died  in  1910. 

It  was  in  1833  that  Abner  Frazier  came  to  Georgetown,  where  he  located 
and  became  a  merchant.  His  business  was  continued  through  his  life  and  his 
son  carried  it  on  after  his  father  died.  Abner  Frazier  was  the  father  of  eight 
children.  There  were  Perry,  Mrs.  James  Snapp,  Mrs.  Sophia  Newlin,  John, 
Mrs.  John  Rogers,  Mrs.  Dr.  Mendenhall,  and  Mrs.  W.  E.  Moore.  One  died 
very  young. 

Dr.  W.  W.  R.  Woodbury  was  a  well  known  name  all  through  the  century 
which  began  with  the  thirties.  Coming  to  Danville  in  1832,  he  went  into  Dr. 
Fithian's  family  and  in  the  course  of  time  studied  medicine  under  his  guidance. 
He  graduated  from  Rush  Medical  College  in  1830,  but  never  practiced  his  pro- 
fession to  any  great  extent,  because  he  became  interested  in  the  drug  trade  with 
Dr.  J.  A.  Sconce  and  finally  made  it  a  permanent  business.  He  began  in  the 
drug  business  in  1850,  and  in  1910  his  successors,  of  whom  the  most  of  the  ones 
interested  in  the  stock  are  his  children,  held  their  fiftieth  year  celebration.  In 
company  with  John  W.  Myers,  he  built  the  Lincoln  Opera  House.  At  that 
time  this  enterprise  was  the  wonder  of  the  community.  The  proprietors  were 
laughed  at  for  their  monument  of  folly,  as  it  was  called,  but  fortunately  real 
estate  took  an  upward  turn  at  this  time  and  the  venture  was  a  success.  Dr. 
Woodbury  filled  several  public  offices,  one  of  which  was  that  of  mayor.  He 
built  a  number  of  houses  in  the  city  and  has  added  four  or  more  additions  to 
the  city  plat.  In  1853  Mr.  Sconce  sold  out  to  John  W.  and  Steven  Myers  and 
in  1857  Steven  died  and  Dr.  Woodbury  bought  out  their  interest  and  after- 
wards run  the  business  by  himself.  For  more  than  fifty  years  the  Woodbury 
drug  store  has  been  on  the  same  lot.  Dr.  Woodbury  died  in .  Dr.  Wood- 
bury  was  married  three  times.  His  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  James  Newell, 
his  second  wife  was  a  Miss  Myers,  and  his  other  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Amos 
Williams.  Dr.  Woodbury  left  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Henry  Oakwood  opened  his  farm  in  1833  and  the  beginning  of  the  village  of 
Oakwood  was  made.  Henry  Oakwood  remained  there  the  rest  of  his  life. 

Jesse  Davis  came  with  his  parents  in  1833  to  Catlin.  He  located  on  section 
36.  Mr.  Davis  died  in  1834  and  his  wife  survived  her  husband  thirty-six  years. 

David  Finley  came  to  near  Catlin  in  1833  with  his  grown  family.  Among 
them  were  the  son,  Watts,  a  daughter  Nancy  (who  afterward  became  the  wife 
of  Samuel  Frazier),  and  son  Miller.  His  other  daughter  was  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Frazier  at  the  time  they  all  came  from  Ohio.  Mr.  Finley's  son  Miller 
went  to  the  Mexican  war  and  there  lost  his  life.  After  the  death  of  their  father, 
Watts,  Miller,  and  Nancy  settled  on  a  farm  of  twenty  acres  in  section  25  and 


162  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

« 

24,  town  23,  range  12.     Later  Nancy  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Frazier  and 
Watts  married  Miss  Margaret  Davis. 

Hon.  Jacob  Oakwood  was  three  years  old  when  his  parents  brought  him  to 
Vermilion  County.  They  settled,  as  has  been  stated  on  another  page,  near  the 
present  day  village  of  Oakwood  until  Mr.  Oakwood,  the  father,  died  in  1855. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Mount  Vernon  cemetery.  The  children  of  this  well 
known  pioneer  family  were  named  as  follows:  Henry,  Michael  (a  Methodist 
preacher),  Mrs.  Margaret  (George  A.)  Fox,  Jacob,  Mrs.  Amanda  (Rev.  Eli) 
Helmick,  Samuel,  Mrs.  Matilda  (Henry)  Sallie,  Martin  R.  and  Morgan  H. 
These  children  were  all  well  taught,  better  than  the  average,  and  they  have  been 
a  strong  factor  in  the  development  of  the  county.  Jacob  Oakwood,  in  particular, 
was  very  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  He  was  always  chosen  an  au- 
thority in  agricultural  matters.  He  was  chosen  as  president  of  the  Vermilion 
County  Agricultural  Society,  because  he  could  best  fill  the  place.  His  influence 
was  always  on  the  side  of  improved  farming.  He  was  as  intelligently  interested 
in  all  political  issues  of  the  times.  In  1872  he  was  sent  to  represent  the  county 
in  the  legislature.  While  there  he  was  helpful  in  securing  legislation  that  was 
of  value.  He  served  on  important  committees  and  took  the  greatest  pains  to 
inform  himself  regarding  all  things  he  had  to  decide  upon.  Jacob  Oakwood 
married  Miss  Mary  I.  Caraway,  daughter  of  Charles  Caraway,  one  of  the  early 
settlers. 

These  years  of  1834  and  1835  were  the  dates  when  many  of  the  citizens  of 
Vermilion  County  sold  out  their  farms  and  went  to  Wisconsin  in  the  search  of 
wealth.  Probably  twenty-five  families  went  from  Blount  township  and  as  many 
from  other  parts  of  the  county.  The  lead  mines  of  Wisconsin  were  beginning 
to  attract  attention  and  the  people  thought  they  saw  a  chance  to  get  rich  quick. 
Among  those  who  went  at  this  time  were  Mr.  Blount,  the  man  after  whom  the 
township  was  named,  Mr.  William  Lane,  John  Snyder,  and  the  Magees. 

Of  the  newcomers  into  the  county  a  few  may  be  mentioned.  There  were 
R.  T.  Leverich,  William  I.  Moore,  L.  T.  Palmer,  G.  W.  Holloway,  J.  H.  Lockett, 
C.  E.  Loring,  Dr.  Theodore  Lemon,  and  many  others.  William  McMillen  was 
one  of  these  newcomers  and  he  brought  his  family  with  him,  settling  in  Blount 
township,  on  section  30.  Daniel  Loring  came  from  Coal  Creek,  Indiana,  whither 
he  had  gone  from  Utica,  New  York.  Mr.  Loring  stayed  in  Indiana  only  a  short 
time,  only  perhaps  a  dozen  years,  the  wagon  which  brought  them  from  the  east 
had  not  been  destroyed  and  carried  them  into  Vermilion  County  when  the  time 
came  that  they  were  decided  to  go  on  west.  This  wagon  was  a  wonder  and  was 
said  to  be  the  most  solid  wagon  ever  brought  to  this  county,  and  the  only  one 
of  its  kind.  It  was  a  covered  wagon  built  of  sawed  logs  fitted  on  axles.  C.  E. 
Loring,  the  only  son  of  Daniel  Loring,  was  a  man  of  twenty-five  when  he  came 
with  them  from  Indiana.  Before  this  he  came  into  his  inheritance  from  his 
mother.  The  amount  was  $150.00,  but  to  get  it  he  had  to  go  back  east.  To 
get  there  he  hired  out  to  be  a  hand  on  a  flat-boat  and  in  that  way  went  down  the 
Wabash  river,  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  thence  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  he  reached  his  destination  at  Boston.  With  one  hundred 
dollars  of  his  money  he  bought  eighty  acres  of  land.  There  was  not  even  a  rail 
fence  on  the  entire  place.  Nothing  daunted,  Mr.  Loring  began  to  break  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  163 

land,  with  the  yoke  of  oxen  the  other  fifty  dollars  of  his  inheritance  had  pro- 
vided. Mr.  Loring's  friends  were  all  the  people  who  knew  him,  so  that  when 
in  the  seventies  he  lost  his  eyesight,  all  the  community  grieved  over  his  affliction. 
He  was  the  more  afflicted  because  he  was  a  man  who  loved  to  read  and  it  was 
hard  to  give  this  up.  Mr.  Loring,  however,  lived  many  years  after  this  afflic- 
tion came.  Mr.  Loring  died  in  1899.  When  Zachariah  Robertson  was  twelve 
years  old  his  father's  family  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Kentucky.  They 
settled  on  section  36,  Newell  township.  His  father  was  married  the  second 
time  and  was  the  father  of  nineteen  children  all  told.  He  was  a  revolutionary 
soldier.  When  the  family  came  it  was  in  a  covered  wagon,  camping  out  by  the 
wayside  at  night.  When  they  came  to  the  Wabash  river  the  son,  twelve  years 
old,  waded,  driving  the  stock  before  him.  There  was  much  wild  game  and  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  could  be  had  to  one's  desire.  Mr.  Robertson  entered  forty  acres 
of  land  and  built  his  pioneer  home.  Here  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life.  He  lived  to  be  ninety-four  years  old,  and  died  in  Newell  township  at 
where  Bismarck  now  is  built. 

Edward  Rouse  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1834.  He  had  been  here  the 
year  previous,  but  returned  to  Ohio  and  did  not  locate  until  at  this  time.  He 
located  in  Danville  township  and  in  1849  moved  to  Newell  township.  His  father 
and  mother,  Reason  and  Martha  (Olehy)  Rouse,  had  made  all  arrangements  to 
come  to  Vermilion  County  some  years  before  this  time,  when  just  as  they  were 
almost  ready  to  start,  the  father  sickened  and  died.  With  a  courage  strong  and 
a  rare  resolution,  the  mother  braved  the  new  country  and  came  with  her  family 
of  little  children.  However,  she  did  not  live  to  make  them  a  home  in  Illinois, 
but  died  within  six  months  and  the  children  found  homes  with  relatives. 

William  I.  Moore  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1834  and  located  in  Pilot 
township.  He  developed  the  now  well  known  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Wiley  Fowler, 
who  has  made  it  famous.  Mr.  Moore  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  came  west 
he  was  about  thirty  years  old,  buying  cheap  land,  and  also  selling  goods  to  great 
profit.  He  used  to  buy  large  quantities  of  pork,  flour  and  other  produce  and 
store  it  in  large  warerooms  at  Perrysville,  Indiana,  and  when  he  had  secured  the 
amount  he  desired  shipped  it  down  the  Wabash  river  to  New  Orleans.  He  did 
this  shipping  by  the  flat-boat,  the  method  of  the  time.  In  1844-45,  Mr.  Moore 
served  Vermilion  County  in  the  State  Legislature. 

Ricliard  T.  Leverich  and  his  brother  were  men  of  affairs  in  the  county,  coming 
in  1835.  He  went  into  Dr.  Fithian's  store  right  away,  having  made  such  an  ar- 
rangement before  leaving  home.  Mr.  Leverich  was  born  in  Queens  County,  New 
Vork,  and  lived  there  during  his  boyhood.  When  he  came  west,  he  came  as  far 
as  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  he  rode  Dr.  Fithian's  horse  to  Indianapolis,  and  thence 
came  in  the  stage  coach  to  Perryville  and  from  there  to  Danville.  It  took  him 
about  two  weeks  to  make  the  trip.  Mr.  Leverich  clerked  for  Dr.  Fithian  for 
three  years  and  then  went  into  partnership  with  L.  T.  Palmer,  in  the  general 
store  business,  where  he  remained  for  fourteen  years,  after  which  he  and  his 
brother  were  partners  for  some  five  years.  This  partnership  concluded  and 
Mr.  Leverich  continued  the  business  alone  for  five  years  more,  when  he  went 
on  his  farm,  where  he  remained  until  his  death.  Mr.  Leverich  married  Lydia 


164  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Gilbert,  the  daughter  of  Solomon  Gilbert,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
earlier  settlers. 

John  Vinson  was  born  in  Bourbon  County  in  1823,  and  came  with  his  par- 
ents to  Fountain  County,  Indiana,  in  1834,  where  he  lived  for  a  short  time. 
They  soon  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Newton.  In 
1843  ne  married  Elizabeth  Trimbell,  a  daughter  of  William  Trimbell,  Sr.,  and 
made  his  home  near  to  the  parents  of  his  wife.  After  a  time  Mr.  Trimbell  in- 
duced his  son-in-law  and  his  wife  to  purchase  a  farm  of  him  out  on  the  prairie, 
so  that  they  might  better  care  for  the  cattle  which  he  was  raising.  This  farm 
proved  to  be  a  fine  one  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1893,  he  was  possessed 
of  as  fine  a  farm  of  400  acres  as  was  in  Pilot  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vinson 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  survived  him.  He  was 
converted  in  the  Methodist  church  at  the  age  of  17,  and  lived  a  consistent  life, 
being  licensed  to  exhort  by  the  Illinois  Conference  in  1853,  and  in  1855  was 
ordained  as  minister  of  the  gospel.  He  never  took  a  charge,  but  was  a  local 
preacher  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  1853, 
and  held  that  office  for  twenty-four  years.  He  was  a  volunteer  in  the  Civil 
War,  being  made  First  Lieutenant  of  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
fifth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  but  after  the  battle  of  Perryville,  he  came  home 
on  account  of  ill  health.  He  afterwards  helped  raise  a  company,  and  was  made 
First  Lieutenant  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  and  served 
with  honor  until  the  term  of  his  enlistment  was  over.  After  he  returned  home, 
he  lived  a  quiet  life  in  the  same  part  of  Vermilion  County  that  had  been  his 
home  since  he  came  from  Kentucky.  He  died  September  26,  1893,  and  was 
buried  in  the  cemetery  adjoining  the  Emberry  chapel.  He  was  the  son  of 
Abigail  Vinson,  who  was  very  well  known  and  loved  and  who  survived  her  son, 
although  she  was  at  the  time  more  than  one  hundred  years  old  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  Abigail  Vinson,  the  mother  of  the  Rev.  John  Vinson,  came  to  Ver- 
milion County  in  about  1877  and  was  one  of  the  best  known  people  who  ever 
lived  in  what  is  now  known  as  Pilot  township.  Her  life  was  one  of  useful- 
ness and  self-sacrifice.  She  served  humanity  through  a  long  period  of  years, 
and  it  has  proudly  been  said  of  her,  that  she  was  at  the  bedside  of  more  sick 
people  than  any  physician  of  the  neighborhood.  The  night  was  never  too  dark, 
nor  the  weather  so  inclement,  that  she  would  refuse  a  call  of  distress.  Often 
she  would  find  her  patient,  illy  prepared  to  meet  the  coming  little  one  and 
"Grandma  Vinson"  as  she  was  called  in  loving  terms,  would  take  off  her 
own  garments  to  keep  the  little  stranger  from  the  cold.  Her  son  often 
said  that  she  would  ride  twenty  miles  to  beg  a  garment  and  then  ride  ten  more 
in  the  other  direction  to  deliver  it  and  think  it  no  hardship.  A  generation  arose 
to  revere  her  name  and  to  hand  it  down  to  succeeding  generations  in  loving 
memory.  iMrs.  Abigail  Vinson  was  born  in  Maryland,  in  1793.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Abbie  McDowell.  She  moved  with  her  parents  to  Bourbon  County, 
Kentucky,  where  she  lived  for  several  years,  and  was  there  married  to  Hen- 
son  Vinson;  together  they  moved  to  Indiana  and  lived  there  a  short  time,  after 
which  they  moved  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  She  was  ever  called  generous 
and  kind  hearted,  always  encouraging  and  never  discouraging  those  with  whom 
she  came  in  contact.  She  was  the  best  substitute  for  a  doctor  in  that  part  of 


JOHN  G.  LEVERICH 


I,.  M.  THOMPSON 


WATTS   FINLEY 


EDWARD  ROUSE 


W.  H.  PRICE 


ABNER  FRAZIER 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  165 

the  county,  and  has  ridden  many  a  mile  in  all  kinds  of  weather  to  attend  the  sick. 
She  was  the  mother  of  nine  children  and  was  always  in  the  best  of  health.  She 
died  January  30,  at  the  advanced  age  of  102  years.  She  was  buried  in  the  Glen- 
burn  cemetery. 

Theodore  Lemon,  M.  D.,  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Bunker  Hill,  Vir- 
ginia. He  made  up  his  mind  to  settle  in  Danville,  Illinois,  upon  his  finishing 
his  studies  in  medicine,  because  of  the  fact  that  his  brother  had  come  here  in 
the  previous  year.  He  came  in  company  with  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  James  Cheno- 
weth.  Dr.  Lemon  taught  school  in  the  Presbyterian  church  for  a  year  after 
he  came,  before  he  attempted  t6  practice  to  any  great  extent.  Soon,  however, 
he  established  a  lucrative  practice,  and  it  extended  for  many  miles  in  every 
direction.  He  was  one  of  a  large  family  of  children,  and  they  came  to  Dan- 
ville and  marrying  into  the  families  of  the  pioneers,  made  a  large  relationship 
an  connection,  in  the  community.  One  sister  married  I.  R.  Moores  and  one 
married  John  H.  Murphy,  and  went  to  Oregon.  His  sister  married  W.  T. 
Cunningham,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  O.  L.  Davis,  and  died  in  Danville.  A  brother 
of  Dr.  Lemon  was  a  practicing  physician  in  Fairmount  for  some  time.  Dr. 
Lemon  married  Lavinia  Sconce,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  but  whose  parents 
came  to  Vermilion  County  when  she  was  but  a  child  of  one  year.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Lemon  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and 
the  others  all  grew  up  and  spent  their  lives  in  Danville.  Dr.  Lemon  was 
the  cousin  of  Hon.  Ward  A.  Lemon,  the  Danville  law  partner  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Dr.  Lemon  died  in  Danville  in  December,  1885,  in  the  seventy-fourth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  in  Spring  Hill  cemetery. 

Capt.  G.  W.  Holloway  was  a  man  well  known  and  well  liked,  who  came  to 
Georgetown  township  in  1835,  a  lad  of  twelve  years.  His  father  settled  in  the 
township,  and  after  he  grew  to  the  time  of  starting  for  himself,  he  went  to 
Georgetown  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Henderson,  Dicken  &  Company. 
This  firm  name  soon  changed  to  Henderson  &  Holloway,  which  continued  until 
the  spring  of  1874,  at  which  time  Mr.  Holloway  took  sole  charge  of  the  business. 
In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Regiment,  and 
was  made  captain  of  Company  D.  He  remained  in  the  service  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  Mr.  Holloway  married  Miss  Sophia  Lyons,  who  was  from  Mas- 
sachusetts. They  were  a  family  of  influence  in  the  county,  socially  as  well  as  in 
other  ways.  While  Capt.  Holloway  was  on  the  field  with  his  regiment  his 
brother  Jesse,  together  with  Mr.  Henderson,  conducted  the  business.  After  his 
return,  the  firm  bought  a  mill  and  Mr.  Holloway  turned  his  attention  to  the 
management  of  that. 

Levin  T.  Palmer  came  to  Danville  in  1835  and  continued  to  reside  here  until 
his  death  in  the  year  1900.  He  was  for  many  years  a  leading  merchant,  but 
during  the  later  years  of  his  active  business  life  he  was  engaged  as  agent  and 
trustee  in  loaning  money  for  eastern  capitalists.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  in- 
tegrity, his  word  being  considered  as  being  as  good  as  his  bond.  His  acts  of 
charity  were  extensive  in  number  and  amount  though  unostentatious.  The 
appeal  of  the  needy  never  met  with  refusal.  One  who  knew  him  well  and  long 
when  asked  what  he  considered  the  most  prominent  services  which  had  been  ren- 


166  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

dered  to  the  public,  replied,  "he  stood  for  many  years  as  a  terror  and  obstacle  to 
all  those  who  sought  by  dishonest  or  unlawful  means  to  take  money  from  the 
public  treasury.  It  was  understood  that  such  attempts  would  be  met  by  Mr. 
Palmer  backed  by  his  courage  and  money.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  sums 
saved  to  the  public  by  the  mere  fact  that  Mr.  Palmer  was  known  to  be  on 
guard.  In  1866  and  67  an  attempt  was  made  to  build  a  bridge  at  public  expense 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Mill  Street  or  Woolen  Mill  bridge.  -The  means 
used  were  illegal  and  Mr.  Palmer  fought  the  case  in  the  courts  and  prevented 
payment  for  the  bridge  from  the  public  funds.  As  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Palmer's  honesty,  he  refused  to  use  the  bridge  and  always  crossed  the  stream 
at  the  ford." 

James  Cook  came  to  locate  on  section  10,  Georgetown  township  in  1835.  He 
lived  here  until  his  death  in  1871,  when  he  left  an  improved  farm  which  he  found 
a  wild  piece  of  ground.  John  Ray  came  west  in  the  early  thirties  and  located 
in  what  is  now  Will  County,  but  the  Indian  uprising  of  1832  sent  him  further 
south,  and  he  went  to  Vermilion  County,  Indiana,  whence  he  came  to  Ver- 
milion County,  Illinois,  in  a  few  years.  He  located  on  sections  29  and  30,  in 
Ross  township  in  1835.  He  entered  three  hundred  acres  of  land  and  developed 
a  good  farm.  In  1835  the  Davis  family  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  the 
father  entered  the  largest  tract  of  land  that  ever  was  recorded  in  the  land 
office  in  Danville.  This  entry  was  not  made  until  the  year  after  they  first 
came,  however.  Mr.  Davis  left  his  sons  to  put  in  a  crop  and  returned  to  Ohio, 
and  entered  3000  acres  of  land  in  Vance  township  upon  his  coming  back  the 
next  season.  Charles  Rice  was  one  of  the  newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  in 
1835.  He  settled  in  Vermilion  Grove  and  was  a  prominent  farmer,  and  when 
he  died  had  a  fine  property  to  give  his  heirs.  William  R.  Richards  is  another 
prominent  farmer  of  Vermilion  County  who  came  in  1835.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  twenty-six  when  he  came.  His  father  and  mother  came  at  the  same 
time,  but  they  did  not  live  for  many  years.  Mr.  Richards  made  a  fine  farm, 
to  which  he  added  more  land,  and  lived  on  it  the  remainder  of  his  days.  His 
farm  was  in  Georgetown  township.  William  Sheets  came  in  1835  to  Danville 
township,  where  he  and  his  brother-in-law  built  a  mill,  afterward  known  as  the 
Kyger  mill.  They  carried  on  this  mill  for  nine  years.  He  sold  the  mill  and 
went  on  his  farm,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years,  when  he  bought  an  in- 
terest in  the  mill  again  and  went  back  to  the  same,  living  there  for  two  years. 
During  his  two  years  at  the  mill,  he  together  with  Thos.  S.  Morgan  and  Henry 
and  Daniel  Kyger,  built  the  steam  mill  at  Georgetown.  However,  he  sold  out 
his  interest  in  the  mill  before  it  was  run  at  all.  Having  no  interest  in  the  Kyger, 
nor  the  Georgetown  mills,  he  went  back  to  the  farm  and  there  remained  until 
his  death  in  August  1879.  Mr.  Sheets  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Kyger  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  six  children. 

John  Fletcher  came  to  Vermilion  Grove  with  his  parents,  himself  a  young 
man,  in  1836,  John  Smith  (Eng.),  as  he  always  signed  his  name,  came  to  Ver- 
milion County  in  1836  and  was  a  conspicious  citizen  of  Middlefork  township 
all  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Mr.  Shepherd  came  to  Vermilion  County 
in  1836  and  settled  in  what  was  afterward  Oakwood  township.  He  built  a  mill 
on  Salt  Fork  that  cost  $3,000,  but  died  before  it  began  to  run.  Henry  Harbaugh, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  167 

who  is  the  oldest  man  in  Vermilion  County,  yet  living,  came  into  this  section 
in  1836.  He  now  lives  with  his  children  and  grandchildren,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  six  years.  He  is  clear  in  his  statements  of  early 
days,  and  tells  how  he  came  "down  the  Ohio  and  up  the  Wabash"  as  far  as 
Perrysville,  when  he  walked  on  to  Danville,  thence  to  Denmark  and  Higgins- 
ville,  where  he  located  and  where  he  remained.  Thos.  B.  Newlin  came  to  Ver- 
milion County  from  Champaign  County  in  1835,  having  located  in  the  latter, 
coming  from  Virginia  some  years  earlier.  He  entered  land  in  Catlin  township 
and  married  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Griffith.  George  W.  Wolf  of  Catlin  is  one 
of  the  few  early  settlers  who  can  tell  the  story  of  pioneer  days  from  memory. 
His  story  of  a  farm  in  Tennessee  where  comfort  and  prosperity  was  to  be  had, 
exchanged  for  a  piece  of  worthless  land  in  the  wilderness  of  Illinois  in  the 
early  thirties,  by  his  unsuspecting  father  who  came  with  his  wife  and  children 
to  Vermilion  County  at  that  date,  is  one  of  many.  The  little  boy  was  but  a 
baby  and  much  of  the  memory  shows  the  suffering  of  the  mother  told  in  after 
years.  Mr.  Wolf's  parents  lived  but  a  short  time  and  his  childhood  was  not 
a  sheltered  condition.  He  early  had  to  make  his  way  in  the  world,  but  he  made 
it  to  some  purpose,  and  now  at  seventy-eight,  he  is  clear  of  brain,  accurate, 
and  trustworthy  as  authority  on  matters  in  the  history  of  Vermilion  County. 
Mr.  Wolf  has  served  the  county  as  Supervisor  and  in  other  offices.  He  was 
among  the  last  to  work  in  the  Salt  Works,  having  been  employed  there  when 
he  was  eighteen  years  old'.  In  1835,  a  charter  was  secured  for  the  Chicago 
and  Vincennes  Railway,  among  the  charter  members  being  Gurdon  S.  Hub- 
bard,  (who  had  moved  to  Chicago  before  this  time),  John  H.  Murphy,  and  I. 
R.  Moores  of  Danville.  The  same  year,  a  charter  was  secured  from  Quincy, 
to  the  Indiana  state  line  in  the  direction  of  LaFayette,  via  Springfield,  Decatur 
and  Danville,  under  the  name  of  the  North  Cross  Railroad.  Robert  Kirkpatrick 
built  a  mill  on  Stony  Creek  in  1835.  It  was  a  saw-mill.  He  ran  it  for  some 
years,  and  then  it  was  abandoned.  The  historic  "Kyger's  Mill"  was  built  in 
1835.  Mr.  Hale,  the  first  capitalist  to  come  to  Vermilion  County,  built  a  mill 
in  1836.  The  year  1836  witnessed  several  changes  in  Vermilion  County,  a  few 
of  which  are  here  recorded.  The  State  Bank  had  been  chartered  in  the  previous 
year,  and  now  Danville  thought  the  demand  for  such  an  institution  merited 
one  being  established  here.  The  State  Bank  was  patterned  on  that  of  the 
United  States,  and  had  various  branches  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  A 
charter  was  granted  incorporating  the  Danville  Academy,  in  1836. 

Amos  Williams  built  the  mill  on  the  Big  Vermilion  river  long  known  as  the 
cotton  mill  in  1836.  The  first  steam  saw-mill  was  built  in  this  year.  The  grading 
of  the  North  Cross  railroad  was  done  through  Vance  township  in  1836.  It  was 
a  part  of  the  net-work  of  "Internal  Improvements"  which  swamped  the  state 
at  this  time  and  were  lost  in  the  revulsion  of  the  next  year.  A  number  of  postal 
routes  were  established  during  that  year.  One  went  from  Danville  to  Spring- 
field via  Decatur.  Another  went  from  Danville  to  Ottawa.  Yet  another  went 
to  Indianapolis  via  Danville  (Ind.),  Rockville,  Montezuma  and  Newport.  The 
western  terminus  of  this  line  was  Danville,  111.  Samuel  Porter  came  from  Mary- 
land to  Vermilion  County  in  1826  and  settled  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of 
Indianola,  where  he  died  in  1848. 


16tf  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Jesse  Liggett  came  to  Vermilion  County  .in  1836,  and  located  on  eighty  acres 
of  land  one  mile  northeast  of  Newton.  Later  he  bought  160  acres  and  yet  later 
added  more  land,  until  he  owned  600  acres  in  this  section.  A  part  of  this  land 
was  on  Middle  Fork,  but  the  last  purchase  was  on  the  prairie.  Mr.  Liggett  had 
a  mill  in  the  bottoms  of  the  Middle  Fork  which  supplied  the  neighborhood.  He 
lived  on  the  timber  farm  until  he  bought  the  land  on  the  prairie,  after  which  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  the  new  farm.  Mr.  Liggett's  parents  went 
from  Virginia  to  Ohio  when  that  state  had  but  just  been  transformed  from  a 
territory.  He  was  but  one  year  old  at  the  time  of  the  change  of  residence. 
He  came  to  Illinois  in  1836,  so  that  his  life  was  almost  entirely  spent  in  pioneer 
ways  of  living.  He  was  an  extensive  breeder  of  cattle  and  swine  and  kept  this 
industry  up  after  his  retiring  to  his  Muncie  home.  His  last  years  were  spent  in 
comfort  in  the  home  in  Muncie.  Mr.  Liggett  was  the  father  of  eight  children 
and  at  his  death  he  left  each  of  them  forty  and  more  acres  of  land. 

Of  the  men  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  to  help  in  its  development  it 
must  not  be  neglected  to  mention  one  who  did  so  much  by  strength  and  skill  of 
trade  as  Mr.  Tilton,  who  established  a  brick  kiln  and  at  the  same  time  worked 
at  his  other  trade  of  builder.  Among  other  work  he  built  the  dam  across  the 
Vermilion  river  for  Amos  Williams'  mill. 

Dr.  A.  M.  C.  Hawes  came  to  Georgetown  in  March,  1836,  and  was  an  ex- 
tensive practitioner  in  that  part  of  the  country  all  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life.  The  year  after  his  coming  he  married  Miss  Wilmoth  Walters.  They  were 
the  parents  of  twelve  children. 

William  J.  Terrill  came  to  Georgetown  about  this  time,  coming  from  Ohio. 
He  was  a  good  carpenter  and  his  work  was  found  in  the  early  homes. 

Seneca  Stearns  came  to  Oakwood  township,  in  Vermilion  County,  one  mile 
northeast  of  Fithian  in  1836.  Mr.  Stearns  was  born  in  Vermont,  but  had  moved 
to  Ohio,  at  which  place  he  was  married  to  a  girl  of  Ohio.  He  entered  land 
which  he  improved  and  lived  on  until  the  death  of  the  wife,  after  which  Mr. 
Stearns  lived  with  his  children.  He  died  in  1898. 

The  next  three  years  of  the  thirties  witnessed  the  building  of  many  mills. 
Early  in  the  year  1837,  the  grading  of  the  North  Cross  railroad  was  begun  and 
was  completed  from  the  Champaign  County  line  east.  This  was  done  through 
the  influence  of  Dr.  Fithian,  who  was  in  the  state  legislature  and  foresaw  the 
crash  which  was  to  come  when  this  work  would  be  impossible.  The  Vermilion 
Rapids  was  platted  and  abandoned  in  the  year  1837. 

Among  the  newcomers  of  1838  and  1839  can  be  counted  a  number  of  men 
who  afterward  were  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  The  list  would  in- 
clude John  Cole,  Wilson  Burroughs,  John  Newlin,  Abraham  Sandusky,  William 
Giddings,  Mr.  Menely  and  Henson  Vinson,  as  well  as  Samuel  G.  Craig,  John 
E.  Cooper,  Robert  Mills,  David  Clapp,  Thos.  Church  and  others. 

Newtown  was  surveyed  and  laid  off  in  1838  by  Benj.  Coddington  from  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  25,  T.  20,  R.  13.  The  lots  were  made  three  rods 
wide  and  six  rods  long;  the  alleys  were  one  rod  wide.  Main  street  was  to 
extend  north  and  south  four  rods  wide.  High  street  extends  east  and  west  of 
the  same  width.  The  plat  of  the  village  was  recorded  June  15,  1838,  and  given 
under  the  hand  of  Owen  West,  county  surveyor.  The  first  man  to  locate  in  the 


WILLIAM    MEADE 


SENECA   STEARNS 


DARIUS    DUNCAN 


T.  W.  DOUGLASS 


ROBERT  CHESLEY 


FRANCIS  M.  ALLHANDS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  169 

vicinity  of  this  place  was  Stephen  Griffith,  but  Mr.  Griffith  was  not  connected 
with  the  town.  Mr.  Coddington  was  the  first  to  build  a  dwelling  and  within  a 
year  Hezekiah  Miner  built  the  second.  About  this  time  Jonathan  Harris  put 
up  the  first  store.  William  Reed,  the  first  sheriff  of  Vermilion  County,  built  a 
dwelling  here  in  1837.  This  town,  which  was  never  much  more  than  a  cross 
road,  had  a  prosperous  life  until  the  railroads  brought  their  stations  to  compete 
with  it.  Its  glory  has  departed  so  far  as  being  of  any  worth  as  a  business  point, 
but  it  is  far  from  having  the  appearance  of  an  abandoned  town  one  would  ex- 
pect to  find.  Its  few  dwellings,  church  and  other  buildings  are  kept  painted  and 
an  air  of  being  as  self-respecting  as  any  town  pervades  the  little  hamlet. 

Benjamin  Stites,  with  his  wife,  came  to  Blount  township  in  1837.  They  set- 
tled at  Rickard  Corner.  The  next  year  they  moved  to  a  place  two  miles  south 
of  Myersville,  and  lived  there  until  in  1857  they  moved  out  of  the  county. 

John  Cole,  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  many  men  who  found  pros- 
perity in  Vermilion  County,  came  in  1837.  He  first  located  on  section  20  and 
30,  in  Danville  township,  and  in  1839  he  went  back  to  Vermont  and  brought 
back  a  bride.  Later  he  entered  and  bought  much  land  until  he  was  one  of  the 
largest  land  owners  in  the  county.  He  had  his  land  in  three  farms  and  the  one 
on  which  he  lived  was  among  the  best  farms  in  the  county.  Mr.  Cole  was  mar- 
ried three  times.  His  first  wife  left  him  a  daughter,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  McKee  and  lived  in  Danville  and  whose  death  was  greatly  mourned  by  a 
host  of  friends.  His  second  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Michael  Weaver,  and 
at  her  death  she  left  one  son.  His  third  wife  was  the  mother  of  one  child,  a 
daughter.  Mr.  Cole  lived  to  an  advanced  age  and  died  in  1910. 

Jesse  Burroughs  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1839  from  Dearborn  County, 
Indiana,  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Catlin.  They  lived  there  a  number  of  years 
and  then  changed  their  residence  to  Fairmount.  Mr.  Burroughs  died  there  in 
1880.  His  wife  survived  him  less  than  a  year. 

Abraham  Sandusky  (or  Sodowsky)  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Ken- 
tucky in  1837.  He  and  his  brother  Isaac  were  the  founders  of  the  name  in  this 
country  which  has  stood  for  prosperity  and  success.  He  had  five  children  when 
he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  land  which  he  made  his  home  as  long  as  he 
lived.  It  was  on  the  Little  Vermilion  and  was  of  great  value  and  has  been  in- 
creased and  added  to  by  two  generations  untilv  now  the  land  which  is  still  in 
possession  of  his  heirs,  and  that  which  they  have  gained,  covers  a  large  part  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  county. 

William  Giddings  was  the  only  member  of  his  father's  family  who  came  to 
America.  He  crossed  the  ocean  and  came  directly  to  Vermilion  County  in  1837. 
He  was  like  most  of  the  men  who  came  here,  that  is,  not  possessed  of  much  of 
the  world's  goods.  But  he  had  that  which  is  better,  which  is  a  heart  full  of  hope 
and  courage  to  win.  He  began  at  once  working  at  his  trade,  that  of  journeyman. 
Soon  with  his  savings  he  was  able  to  buy  his  employer's  business,  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  wagons  and  plows.  The  plows  he  first  made  had  wooden  mold- 
boards.  The  woods  were  searched  to  find  the  giant  shaped  trees  from  which  to 
make  these  boards.  Later  he  made  carriages,  wagons  and  steel  plows  and  made 
a  fortune.  He  died  in  September,  1875.  He  left  a  family  of  eight  children. 
His  wife,  who  was  born  in  the  same  place  as  he.  died  the  year  before  he  did. 


170  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Her  brother  came  with  her  from  England,  but  they  stopped  in  Massachusetts. 

John  Rickart  was  a  settler  of  Blount  township  who  came  in  1836  and  went 
to  about  nine  miles  northwest  of  Danville.  Mr.  Rickart,  with  his  family,  came 
from  Ohio  in  a  covered  wagon  and  bought  a  tract  of  land  of  Mr.  Skinner  which 
had  some  improvements  already  made  on  it.  He  built  his  family  a  good  house 
and  was  well  fixed  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Malichi  Mendenhall  came  to  Carroll  township  in  1838  and  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  there  in  peace  and  quiet.  He  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, who  spent  some  time  in  Ohio,  where  he  was  married  and  whence  he  came 
to  Illinois. 

Mr.  Allen  Lewis  came  on  foot  all  the  way  from  his  native  state,  New  York, 
to  Vermilion  County  in  1838.  He  did  not  walk  all  the  way,  there  being  some 
fourteen  miles  where  he  rode.  He  took  up  ninety-seven  acres  on  section  22, 
and  stayed  six  months,  when  he  went  back  to  his  old  home  and  remained  three 
years.  During  this  time  he  married  and  in  the  specified  time  brought  his  young 
wife  to  his  Illinois  home.  They  came  to  Chicago  by  water  and  thence  in  a  prai- 
rie schooner.  They  stopped  at  near  Rossville  for  a  time,  perhaps  four  or  five 
years,  then  rented  a  hotel  where  he  entertained  the  traveling  public  on  their 
way  from  Milford.  It  was  the  first  house  of  this  kind  in  this  section  found  to  be 
of  profit.  Mr.  Lewis  filled  the  place  as  host  for  three  or  four  years.  Meanwhile 
he  entered  land,  but  not  thinking  it  of  much  value,  he  sold  it  for  $4  or  $5  per 
acre.  Before  there  was  a  postoffice  at  Rossville  Mr.  Lewis  was  made  the  post- 
master at  a  small  town  called  Rio.  The  income  from  this  office  frequently  was 
but  $1.25  per  quarter  or  $5  or  $6  per  year.  Mr.  Lewis  was  the  first  postmaster 
in  this  part  of  the  county,  and  he  held  the  office  for  about  four  years.  Mr. 
Lewis  assisted  in  the  establishing  of  the  first  school  and  has  a  large  part  of  his 
time  been  school  treasurer. 

George  Olmsted  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1839.  Their  son  Stanley 
came  with  them.  The  father  died  two  years  after  coming  to  this  section.  In 
coming  west  this  family  went  down  the  Wabash  river  and  up  the  Vermilion 
river,  as  far  as  Perrysville,  thence  going  to  what  is  now  Batestown.  They  set- 
tled in  that  vicinity.  The  father,  Stanley  Olmsted,  operated  a  saw-mill  known 
as  the  Olmsted  mill,  and  beside  manufacturing  lumber  engaged  in  building  flat- 
boats,  that  being  the  only  mill  where  such  boats  were  built,  and  the  most  of  those 
used  in  this  part  of  the  country  were  built  here.  Mr.  Olmsted  was  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  and  a  prominent  and  popular  man  in  the  community. 
When  he  died  in  1848  it  was  considered  a  great  loss  to  the  county. 

In  closing  the  list  of  newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  in  the  thirties  it  is  with 
a  regret  that  not  more  of  them  could  be  numbered  therein.  Many  prominent 
early  settlers  have  doubtless  been  omitted,  for  it  would  not  be  possible  to  name 
all.  The  connection  is  so  close  with  the  life  of  the  next  decade  that  many  who 
are  missed  here  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages,  they  having  come  a  year 
or  two  after  the  time  they  were  supposed  to  have  come.  This  decade  appears 
to  have  seen  more  people  come  into  the  north  and  west  parts  of  the  county  than 
they  did  before.  Even  yet  there  are  few  in  the  extreme  northern  part,  but 
these  years  have  opened  up  the  part  of  the  county  covered  by  Blount,  Pilot  and 
Middlefork  townships.  As  the  decade  previous  had  witnessed  the  settlement  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  171 

the  southeastern  part  and  subsequent  years  opened  the  northern  part  the  years 
of  the  thirties  were  the  time  of  settlement  of  the  central  and  eastern  part  of  Ver- 
milion County.  At  their  close  all  parts,  excepting  the  north  and  northwestern 
and  a  small  part  of  the  western  portions,  of  the  county  have  been  settled. 
Cheap  land  is  to  be  bought,  but  from  individuals  rather  than  from  the  govern- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
MEN  AND  EVENTS  FROM  1840  TO  1860  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

NEW   COMERS    IN    1840 REV.    ASHMORE's    WORK — O.   L.    DAVIS    CAME  TO    VERMILION 

COUNTY    IN    1841 HENSON    VINSON NEW    COMERS    IN    1842   AND    1843 JOHN 

L.    TINCHER DR.     SAMUEL    HUMPHREY NEW     COMERS     IN     1844    AND     I&45~ — 

WILLIAM    I.    ALLEN SAMUEL    H.    VREDENBURGH,    M.    D. OLIVE    BRANCH    LODGE 

ORGANIZED FIRST     BRASS      BAND NEW      COMERS     IN      1846     AND     1847 NEW 

COMERS    IN     1848    AND    1849 — DANVILLE    SEMINARY    INCORPORATED    IN     1850— 

CHAS.       WOLVERTON ODD       FELLOWS'       CHARTER — HIGGINSVILLE       POST-OFFICE 

ESTABLISHED VERMILION      COUNTY     AGRICULTURAL     AND     MECHANICAL     ASSO- 
CIATION  UNION   SEMINARY  ORGANIZED NEW   COMERS  OF   1850,   '5!    AND  '52 

VERMILION    COUNTY   AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY THOS.    HOOPES J.    G.    ENGLISH- — 

NEW    COMERS    IN     1853,    '54    AND    '55 NEW    CITY    CHARTER    FOR    DANVILLE 

NEWELL  HORSE  COMPANY H.   M.  KIMBALL A.  C.  DANIEL RAYMOND  W.  HAN- 
FORD CHAS.    W.    KEESLER JAMES    KNIGHT JOHN    BEARD A.    H.    KIMBROUGH, 

M.    D. NEW     COUNTY    VOTED    DOWN NEW     COMERS     IN     1856,     '57    AND    '58 

FARMERS  AND  MECHANICS   INSTITUTE VOTE  ON    FORMING  FORD  COUNTY NEW 

COMERS JOHN    SIDELL. 

As  the  period  of  pioneer  days  passed  the  new  comers  differed  somewhat. 
Whereas  in  the  Twenties  and  Thirties  the  population  came  from  the  south  to 
a  large  extent,  after  that  time  there  were  many  leaving  the  far  Eastern  states 
and  New  York  who  sought  new  homes  in  Vermilion  County.  The  natural  direc- 
tion of  emigration  is  due  west.  The  new  Territory  of  Kentucky  formed  after 
the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  (in  spite  of  the  edict  of  the  King  that 
all  land  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  should  be  reserved  as  a  hunting  ground 
for  the  Indians),  was  an  overflow  from  Virginia,  and  the  Northwest  Territory, 
which  lay  within  the  bounds  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  River,  was  largely  peo- 
pled at  first  by  those  who,  for  some  reason,  desired  to  leave  their  old  homes  in 
Virginia,  or  the  Carolinas.  The  exception  can  be  made  in  Ohio  since  conditions 
caused  the  northern  part  of  the  state  an  attraction  to  settlement.  Emigration 
from  the  northeastern  states  was  attracted  thither. 

But  it  was  not  until  after  the  Indians  were  driven  from  northern  Illinois 
that  this  section  was  in  a  condition  to  attract  settlements.  When  northern  Illi- 
nois was  open  to  settlement,  the  people  came  from  the  East  to  that  part  of  the 
state  and  some  of  these  found  their  way  to  central  Illinois  as  well.  This  brought 
a  new  element  into  this  section.  However,  immigration  was  not  stopped  from 

172 


PETER    VOORHEES 


.1.   W.   GOODWINE,   SR. 


LUKE  REILLY 


GEORGE   W.   INGLE 


REV.  W.   II.  WEBSTER 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  173 

the  south,  although  many  went  beyond  the  river  to  Missouri  who  might,  a  few 
years  before,  have  been  attracted  to  this  part  of  Illinois.  It  has  been  a  fact 
before  noticed  that  the  red  man  traveled  from  west  to  east,  and  from  the  north- 
west to  the  southeast,  in  seeking  new  locations.  The  white  man  as  conspiciously 
traveled  from  east  to  west  with  a  tendency  to  northwest.  Among  the  new 
comers  in  1840  there  was  a  man  whose  birthplace  was  in  New  England,  although 
his  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent  in  Michigan  and  Indiana.  This  was 
Noah  Hubbard,  a  name  which  has  been  familiar  in  Vermilion  County  for  seventy 
years.  He  died  but  this  last  summer  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-six  years. 
The  youth  and  young  manhood  of  Noah  Hubbard  was  one  of  unusual  influence 
and  shows  the  confidence  of  the  time  when  the  Mormon  faith  was  being  fol- 
lowed in  eastern  Illinois  and  western  Indiana.  The  father  of  Noah  Hubbard 
came  to  Michigan  when  the  son  was  five  years  old.  He  had  been  a  farmer  in 
Massachusetts,  and  ran  a  distillery  and  saw-mill.  He  lived  in  Michigan  for  two 
years  and  then  decided  to  go  to  Indiana  whither  he  drove  with  an  ox-team, 
while  he  sent  his  family  on  the  river  in  a  log  canoe.  When  he  reached  Ver- 
milion County,  Indiana,  he  bought  land  and  also  a  hemp-mill.  This  was  the  same 
year  that  Seymour  Treat  settled  at  the  Vermilion  Salt  Springs,  and  the  year 
previous  to  the  coming  of  James  Butler  to  Butler's  Point  and  Mr.  Johnson  to 
Johnson's  Point. 

Here  this  family  of  Hubbards  lived  until  1835,  when  the  father  became  in- 
terested in  the  faith  of  the  Mormons  and  went  to  Missouri  where  they  were 
established  before  they  went  to  Navoo  in  Illinois.  After  two  years  the  Mor- 
mons left  Missouri  and  came  to  Navoo  in  Illinois  and  Mr.  Hubbard  went  with 
them  and  remained  with  them  as  long  as  they  remained  in  Navoo.  When  the 
Mormons  were  driven  from  Illinois,  Mr.  Hubbard  returned  to  his  old  farm  in 
Vermilion  County,  Indiana.  He  was  never  satisfied,  however,  and  lived  there 
but  two  years  when  he  and  his  wife  went  on  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  again  live 
with  the  Mormons.  They  had  but  reached  Council  Bluffs  when  Mr.  Hubbard 
became  ill  and  died.  The  mother  then  came  back  and  lived  with  her  children. 
Meanwhile  the  son,  Noah,  had  left  home  several  years  before  his  father  went 
to  the  Mormons,  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and  gone  to  Terre  Haute. 
Indiana,  where  he  worked  in  a  tan-yard  for  four  years,  receiving  his  board  and 
clothing  for  his  service.  When  his  father  went  to  the  Mormons,  Noah  Hubbard 
went  back  to  the  old  homestead  where  he  lived  until  1840,  when  he  came  to 
Vermilion  County,  Illinois. 

He  crossed  the  state  line  and  located  in  Georgetown  township  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Hubbard's  Ford  on  Big  Vermilion.  This  ford  may  have  been  given 
that  name  because  of  Gurdon  Hubbard.  There  he  became  superintendent  of  a 
saw-mill  at  fifty  cents  per  day,  and  followed  that  work  for  six  years.  His  next 
move  was  to  what  is  known  as  the  Sprouls'  farm  on  section  36,  Georgetown 
township,  where  he  bought  the  land  and  lived  there  until  1867.  At  that  time  he 
moved  to  the  farm  upon  which  he  lived  until  his  death  this  last  summer.  Five 
years  after  he  moved  into  the  county,  Mr.  Hubbard  was  married  to  Miss  Cath- 
erine Ogden,  who  was  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Vermilion 
County.  They  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity  and  had  families  of  their  own.  Mr.  Hubbard  has  been  a  great  factor 


174  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

in  the  making  of  Vermilion  County  in  the  years  of  the  latter  half  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  He  cleared  and  improved  his  farms  and  made  them  second  to 
none  in  the  county.  He  was  well  and  very  favorably  known.  During  the  latter 
days  of  his  life  his  home  was  known  as  one  of  the  most  attractive  houses  in  the 
county. 

Mr.  Valentine  Payton  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1840  and  settled  first 
near  where  Muncie  is  now  located.  He  was  a  shoe-maker  by  trade  and  also 
farmed  his  land.  When  the  farming  season  was  over  he  and  his  boys  would 
spend  their  time  in  making  shoes.  Mr.  Payton  came  from  Clinton  County,  Ohio, 
going  there  from  the  locality  known  as  Apple  Pie  Ridge  in  Virginia.  Mr.  Pay- 
ton  was  the  father  of  ten  children.  These  children  and  their  children  have  been 
identified  with  affairs  of  the  county  for  the  last  seventy-five  years. 

Two  or  three  of  the  children  of  Valentine  Payton  went  to  Danville  and 
located.  The  children  of  these  men  are  well  known,  among  whom  is  Mr.  Will 
Payton  whose  residence  is  on  Logan  Avenue.  He  is  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Danville  with  money  interest  in  the  West  and  Arkansas.  Mr.  Valentine  Payton 
and  Mr.  Isaac  Payton,  the  one  of  Los  Angeles  and  the  other  of  Spokane,  are 
men  of  wealth  along  the  Pacific  Slope.  Mr.  Clark  Payton  lives  in  Chicago. 
These  are  the  best  known  of  the  grandchildren. 

John  McCarty  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1840  and  located  in  Oakwood 
township.  He  came  from  Ohio.  Mr.  McCarty  was  a  well  known  citizen  of 
this  township  for  forty  years.  He  was  both  a  constable  and  justice  of  the  peace. 

Rev.  James  Ashmore  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  organized  both  the  Mt. 
Vernon  and  the  Mt.  Pisgah  churches  in  the  year  1840. 

Oliver  Lowndes  Davis  was  one  of  the  men  who  came  to  Vermilion  County 
in  the  early  Forties  from  the  East.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York  City,  where 
his  father  was  a  shipping  merchant.  Oliver  Davis  attended  school  in  his  native 
city  and  afterward  went  to  Hamilton  Academy  and  yet  later  went  to  the  academy 
in  Cannandaigua,  N.  Y.  After  he  was  through  school  he  went  into  the  service 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  and  continued  with  this  company  until  in  1841, 
when  he  determined  to  make  the  West  his  home  and  he  came  to  Vermilion 
County  and  settled  in  Danville.  He  had  always  wanted  to  study  law  and  did 
so  at  this  time.  His  subsequent  history  is  such  as  to  reckon  him  among  the  dis- 
tinguished citizens  of  the  county. 

George  M.  Hooton  came  to  Vermilion  County  with  his  father  in  1842  when 
but  a  lad  of  seven  and  has  been  a  citizen  ever  since.  While  a  young  man  he  did 
some  farming,  as  most  of  the  young  men  did,  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter 
and  joiner  at  which  he  did  some  work,  as  well  as  teaching  several  terms  of 
school.  In  1876  the  firm  of  Hankey  and  Hooton  was  formed  and  for  many 
years  it  was  a  familiar  one  in  Danville.  After  that  firm  ceased  to  exist  Mr. 
Hooton  did  the  same  business  under  the  name  of  Hooton  &  Son,  which  has  con- 
tinued to  this  time. 

Francis  D.  Coburn,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  came  to  Illinois  and  located 
on  a  farm  in  Danville  township.  He  had  married  the  widow  of  Geo.  Bocke,  the 
son-in-law  of  Achilles  Morgan,  and  after  his  residence  in  this  county  Mr.  Mor- 
gan made  his  home  with  this  daughter.  Mr.  Coburn  died  at  his  home  on  the 
farm  in  1871.  Mr.  Coburn's  son,  George  F.,  was  a  child  of  but  two  years  when 


DANVILLE  SEMINARY 
Built  in  1850 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  175 

he  was  brought  to  this  county.  Here  on  the  farm  he  grew  to  manhood,  working 
in  the  fields  in  the  summers  and  teaching  school  in  the  winter  months.  He 
began  this  teaching  when  he  was  nineteen  years  old  and  kept  it  up  for  five 
years.  He  later  read  law  under  Judge  O.  L.  Davis,  and  in  1867  was  admitted 
to  the  Illinois  bar.  Mr.  Coburn  has  practiced  ever  since  in  the  courts  of  Dan- 
ville. 

(This  brief  sketch  was  written  by  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Tincher  soon 
after  his  death  and  no  better  tribute  to  this  prominent  man  could  be  made  now.) 

John  L.  Tincher  was  born  in  Kentucky  in  1821.  Eight  years  later  his  parents 
moved  to  Vermilion  County,  Indiana.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  he 
found  himself  an  orphan,  and  he  set  to  work  to  acquire  an  education.  He  at- 
tended school  for  about  three  years  in  Coles  County,  Illinois,  and  then  took 
service  in  the  store  of  Jones  &  Culbertson  at  Newport.  In  1843  he  came  with 
J.  M.  Culbertson  to  Danville,  and  was  a  clerk  in  his  store  until  1853,  when  the 
firm  of  Tincher  &  English  was  formed,  first  as  merchants  and  afterward  as 
bankers.  The  First  National  Bank  stands  as  a  monument  of  their  united  energy, 
labor  and  prudence.  Mr.  Tincher  was  elected  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of 
the  general  assembly  of  the  state  in  1864.  In  1867  he  was  transferred  to  the 
senate,  to  membership  in  which  he  was  re-elected  in  1870.  He  was  also 
in  1870  a  member  of  the  committee  to  revise  the  laws  of  the  state.  For  many 
years  Mr.  Tincher's  business  affairs  were  very  exacting,  and  in  the  later  years 
of  his  life  official  trusts  increased  the  demands  upon  his  energies,  and  added  to 
these  were  church  and  social  obligations,  in  all,  making  the  demands  upon  him 
very  onerous ;  the  increasing  strain  upon  his  mind  and  body  may  be  supposed  to 
have  shortened  his  life.  In  1845  Mr.  Tincher  united  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  soon  afterward  was  chosen  to  occupy  a  subordinate  clerical 
relation  to  the  church,  which  relation  he  maintained  until  his  death.  He  was 
frequently  called  upon  to  preach.  Though  without  classical  education  or  technical 
theological  training,  he  was  a  forcible,  logical  and  acceptable  preacher.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  one  not  endowed  with  superior  powers  of  mind  to  meet  the 
degree  of  success  in  business,  in  politics  and  in  social  life  that  attended  Mr. 
Tincher.  It  is  not  an  extravagance  of  language  to  say  that  he  was  a  gifted  man. 

The  Hon.  John  L.  Tincher  died  at  the  Revere  House,  Springfield,  Illinois,  at 
half  past  six  o'clock,  on  Sunday  evening  the  i7th  of  December,  1871.  His 
disease  was  pleuro-pneumonia.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  had  been 
in  delicate  health,  and  as  far  back  as  1855  it  was  thought  that  his  career  would 
terminate  in  consumption. 

In  the  Summer  of  1869  he  was  attacked  by  apoplexy,  and  thenceforward, 
he  complained  of  cerebral  irregularities,  and  was  never  without  apprehensions 
of  a  return  of  apoplexy.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Tincher  was  in  Spring- 
field attending  to  his  duties,  as  senator.  By  common  consent  Mr.  Tincher  was 
recognized  as  the  controlling  spirit  of  the  community.  He  made  the  poor  man's 
cause  his  cause ;  he  left  no  one  to  charge  him  with  circumvention ;  he  left  no 
taint  on  his  name  and  memory. 

Samuel  A.  Humphrey,  M.  D.,  was  one  of  the  early  day  physicians  of  Ver- 
milion County,  being  located  in  Danville.  He  was  just  twenty-one  when  he 
came,  being  attracted  thither  on  account  of  an  uncle  already  located  in  the 


176  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

county.  He  came  from  Nelson  County,  Kentucky,  a  number  of  whose  residents 
had  already  come  to  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  Humphreys  bought  a  farm  on 
the  Blue  Grass  prairie  when  he  first  came  and  lived  there  a  year,  when  he  took 
up  the  study  of  medicine  and  afterward  went  to  Cincinnati  at  the  Medical  school 
there  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1848.  He  returned  to  Danville  and  began 
his  practice  of  medicine,  at  the  same  time  establishing  a  drug  store  and  a  dry- 
goods  store  also.  He  kept  up  this  threefold  business  as  long  as  he  lived,  to  a 
profit.  Dr.  Humphrey  married  Miss  Mary  Milton,  who  also  was  born  in  Nel- 
son County,  Kentucky,  and  had  come  to  Vermilion  County  with  her  mother 
some  time  after  her  father's  death  and  become  the  wife  of  John  Partlow.  Dr. 
Humphrey  was  a  nephew  of  the  first  wife  of  John  Johns,  an  early  pioneer  in 
Blount  township. 

John  Johnston  was  born  in  Mason  County,  Kentucky,  and  moved  to  Adams 
County,  Ohio,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Twenties.  He  lived  there  until  in  1844; 
he  came  on  horseback  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  settling  on  the  edge  of  the 
prairie,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  present  site  of  Oakwood.  While  in  Ken- 
tucky he  worked  as  a  farm  hand  for  eight  dollars  per  month  and  he  continued 
to  earn  his  living  in  that  way  until  in  1850,  when  he  secured  three  yoke  of  oxen, 
which  he  used  in  breaking  the  priarie.  That  fall,  with  the  old  Virginia  wagon 
filled  with  apples  he  started  for  Chicago,  peddling  his  fruit  along  the  way.  In 
1852  he  went  to  Chicago  with  a  team  of  horses  and  brought  back  a  load  of 
shingles  for  a  neighbor.  He  hauled  oats  to  Covington,  where  he  sold  them  for 
ten  cents  per  bushel.  In  the  fall  of  1852,  Mr.  Johnston  married  Mary  Britting- 
ham,  a  daughter  of  A.  W.  and  Matilda  (Watson)  Brittingham. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston  began  life  in  a  primitive  way.  With  the  exception  of 
a  bedstead  which  her  mother  gave  her,  everything  in  the  house  was  made  by 
Mr.  Johnston.  He  drove  some  wooden  pins  into  the  logs  and  placed  some 
boards  on  the  pins  and  there  was  a  cupboard.  All  cooking  was  done  in  skil- 
lets or  in  kettles  in  the  great  fireplace  and  corn  bread  was  baked  upon  a  smooth 
board  placed  near  the  coals. 

Andrew  H.  Kimbrough,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1823.  When  yet  a  boy  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Edgar  County, 
Illinois,  where  he  received  his  education,  as  far  as  it  went.  He  was  determined 
to  make  the  practice  of  medicine  his  work,  so  he  entered  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1858.  He  had  practiced  some  before 
he  had  finished  his  course  of  study  in  Paris,  while  yet  he  lived  in  Edgar  County. 
The  year  he  graduated  he  located  in  Georgetown,  Vermilion  County,  and  in 
1873  ne  came  to  Danville.  He  practiced  continuously  and  with  favor  until  in 
1901,  on  account  of  failing  health,  he  retired  from  active  practice. 

Dr.  Kimbrough  was  a  member  of  most  all  available  associations  and  profes- 
sional societies.  Dr.  Kimbrough  was  very  prominent  in  the  Odd  Fellows  fra- 
ternity of  which  he  had  been  a  member  for  more  than  fifty  odd  years.  For 
sixteen  years  he  was  elected  High  Priest,  and  for  many  years  he  was  a  valued 
representative  of  the  Knights  of  Honor. 

Dr.  Kimbrough  married  Miss  Sarah  Ashmore  in  1847.  She  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Amos  Ashmore  of  Clark  Countv.  Her  uncle  was  the  Rev.  Ashmore. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  177 

whose  name  was  connected  with  the  great  religious  work  of  the  early  days  of 
Vermilion  County. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Kimbrough  were  both  people  of  more  than  usual  force  of 
character,  and  were  citizens  of  worth  wherever  they  made  their  home.  They 
were  the  parents  of  three  children,  two  daughters  and  one  son.  The  daughters 
are  well  known  in  church  work  and  socially  in  the  county,  and  the  son  is,  after 
holding  many  offices,  at  present  judge  of  the  circuit  court.  Judge  Kimbrough 
has  been  mayor  of  Danville  for  one  term  and  minority  representative  in  the  state 
legislature  for  two  terms.  He  married  Miss  Julia  Tincher,  daughter  of  John 
Tincher,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  one  child,  a  son,  who  died  in  childhood. 
Mrs.  Kimbrough  died  in  1908  and  Mr.  Kimbrough  afterward  married  again. 

Joseph  Bailey  came  from  Essex  County,  Massachusetts,  direct  to  Vermilion 
County,  Illinois,  in  1845,  when  he  was  twenty-five  years  old.  He  settled  in 
Georgetown,  where  his  brother  was  postmaster.  He  became  clerk  in  a  small 
store  there  for  which  service  he  received  six  dollars  per  month.  He  clerked 
for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Bailey  went  into  partnership  with 
his  brother  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  B.  &  J.  Bailey. 

About  this  time  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Brachall,  a  daughter  of  Martin 
Brachall,  an  early  settler  of  Vermilion  County.  Mrs.  Bailey  was  born  in  Ver- 
milion County.  After  several  years  in  this  business  Mr.  Brachall  went  to  In- 
dianola,  where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Sconce  under  the  name  of 
Bailey  &  Sconce,  which  firm  dealt  in  general  merchandise  for  three  years,  after 
which  he  bought  a  farm  and  remained  on  it  for  five  years,  meanwhile  suffering 
loss  from  fire  which  destroyed  his  home.  He  then  returned  to  Danville,  where 
his  children  could  have  the  advantage  of  good  schools.  During  this  time  he  was 
associated  with  Mr.  Hall  in  a  lumber  yard  in  Tuscola,  and  also  in  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  whither  Mr.  Hall  removed.  Mr.  Bailey  also  dealt  in  land  to  a  large 
extent,  owning  property  in  Kansas,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Iowa,  as  well  as  Illi- 
nois and  Indiana.  Mr.  Bailey  made  much  profit  in  buying  and  selling  land. 

In  1870  he  became  one  of  a  company  that  organized  to  build  the  Paris  & 
Danville  Railroad.  But  the  company  failed  and  sold  the  road  to  the  Big  Four 
and  more  recently  it  has  become  the  property  of  the  New  York  Central  system. 
Mr.  Bailey's  loss  in  this  road  was  heavy.  He  lived  retired  in  Georgetown  until 
1888,  when  he  went  to  Kansas  City  to  make  his  home,  but  remained  only  a  few 
months,  when  he  returned  to  Danville  on  account  of  his  wife's  health.  Here  he 
remained  until  his  death.  Mr.  Bailey  was  the  father  of  four  children,  two  sons 
and  two  daughters. 

William  I.  Allen,  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  Vermilion  County,  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  came  from  Ohio  in  1844,  and  entered  land 
in  what  is  now  the  northwestern  part  of  Hoopeston.  It,  at  that  time,  however, 
was  a  tract  of  uncultivated  land  over  which  deers,  wolves,  prairie  chickens  and 
other  wild  creatures,  had  up  to  this  time  wandered  undisturbed  by  man.  There 
was  not  a  tree  or  brush  in  sight,  and  the  pioneer  after  building  his  cabin,  fre- 
quently stood  in  his  doorway  and  counted  numbers  of  deer,  sometimes  as  high 
as  sixty  in  a  herd.  Mr.  Allen  was  not  married  when  he  came  here,  but  in  1848 
he  became  the  husband  of  Miss  Emily  Newell,  the  daughter  of  William  Newell. 
He  broke  his  land  and  improved  his  farm,  working  during  the  summer  months 


178  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

and  teaching  school  in  the  winter.  Mr.  Allen  was  a  man  of  fine  classical  educa- 
tion. When  he  graduated  from  his  eastern  college  he  wrote  a  letter  home  in 
Latin,  which  the  family  yet  have  in  their  possession.  Finally  Mr.  Allen  sold  out 
his  land  to  Mr.  Hoopes  and  himself  settled  six  miles  west,  where  East  Lynn  now 
stands.  By  entry  and  purchase  he  acquired  3,200  acres  of  land  which  was  mostly 
devoted  to  grazing.  He  built  three  houses  and  made  other  improvements  re- 
maining there  until  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  He  enlisted  in  the 
I2th  Illinois  Infantry,  which  regiment  was  first  ordered  to  Cairo  and  then  to 
Paducah,  Kentucky.  After  a  little  he  was  promoted  to  be  the  captain  of  his 
company,  but  became  disabled  for  service  and  was  returned  home.  He  went 
back  to  his  farm  but  in  a  few  months  bought  500  acres  in  the  vicinity  of  Ross- 
ville.  A  few  years  after  he  sold  out  again  and  returned  to  the  northern  part 
of  East  Lynn.  This  town  was  located  on  a  part  of  the  old  farm  when  the  rail- 
road came  through  later. 

In  1884  Mr.  Allen  moved  to  Cherry  County,  Nebraska,  but  he  lived  here 
only  four  years,  when  he  returned  to  Hoopeston,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  Mr.  Allen  was  the  father  of  six  children.  One  of  them,  Mr.  Chas. 
Allen,  has  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  Vermilion  County,  where  he  was  born 
in  1851.  Mr.  Charles  Allen  has  represented  Vermilion  County  in  the  state  legis- 
lature for  many  terms  and  been  a  conspicuous  member  of  each  session.  His 
home  has  always  been  in  Hoopeston.  Mrs.  William  I.  Allen  was  the  daughter 
of  James  Newell  and  was  born  in  Kentucky,  in  1824,  coming  to  Vermilion 
County  with  her  parents  when  she  was  but  a  small  child.  Her  father  was  a 
prominent  early  settler,  the  township  of  Newell  being  named  for  him.  The 
father  of  William  Allen  did  not  come  to  Illinois  to  settle  but  remained  in  Indiana 
as  long  as  he  lived. 

Lawrence  Allen,  the  grandson  of  Mr.  William  Allen  and  son  of  Hon.  Charles 
Allen,  is  at  present  county  judge  of  Vermilion  County.  He  is  a  practicing  at- 
torney located  in  Danville.  Mr.  Charles  Allen  married  Miss  Mary  Thompson, 
the  daughter  of  L.  M.  Thompson.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  John 
N.  and  Lawrence.  . 

William  Allen  bears  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  settler  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  county. 

Herald  Catlett  became  a  resident  of  Vermilion  County  in  1846,  coming  to 
near  Fairmount  in  Vance  township.  Mr.  Catlett  was  born  in  Charlottesville, 
Virginia,  and  was  taken  to  Tuscumbia,  Alabama,  when  two  years  old  by  his 
parents,  who  changed  their  residence  at  that  time.  His  father  was  not  satisfied 
however,  and  in  a  few  years  he  was  found  back  in  Virginia.  There  he  remained 
until  1835,  when  he  went  on  west  to  Ohio,  and  in  1846  he  went  on  farther  to 
Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  Here  he  was  a  farmer  until  his  death  in  1861. 
He  belonged  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  was  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith,  and  a 
democrat.  He  was  a  man  of  charitable  impulses,  generous  and  benevolent.  His 
wife  survived  him  until  1871.  They  had  a  family  of  twelve  children,  six  sons 
and  six  daughters.  Three  of  these  were  prominent  citizens  of  Vermilion  County 
— Virginia,  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Chas.  Lamon,  of  Fairmount;  Herald; 
and  Hiram  H.,  who  has  been  a  large  dealer  in  hogs  and  cattle.  His  home  is  also 
in  Vance  township. 


OLD   LINCOLN    MALL 


THOMAS   FORBES   PROPERTY 

Built  in  1850.  on  North  and  Walnut 

Streets 


PROPERTY  OF  WILLIAM  GIDDIXGS 
ON  SOUTH  HAZEL  STREET 


HARMON  PROPERTY  ON  E.  MAIN  ST. 

Built  in  1850 


THE  ENOCH  KINGSBURY  HOME  ON 
SOUTH    WALNUT   STREET 


IN  USE  AS  A  BUSINESS  HOUSE 
SINCE  IT  WAS  BUILT  IN  1850 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  179 

The  deals  of  these  two  brothers  were  perhaps  greater  than  of  any  other  per- 
son in  the  county  at  that  time.  Mr.  Catlett  not  only  bought  and  sold  hogs  and 
cattle  but  he  became  an  extensive  stock  raiser.  He  had  excellent  executive 
ability,  and  keen  business  force,  carrying  to  a  successful  termination  anything 
he  undertook. 

Mr.  Catlett  was  not  a  politician,  but  was  an  earnest  democrat.  He  never 
aspired  to  public  office.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  from  a  child 
and  in  which  he  served  as  deacon. 

Mr.  Catlett  died  May  i,  1902,  and  was  buried  in  the  Davis  Cemetery  in 
Vance  township.  He  was  the  father  of  four  children  all  of  whom  grew  to 
womanhood  and  manhood,  except  the  third  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

W.  C.  Cowan  was  a  valued  citizen  of  Vermilion  County,  coming  in  1846. 
He  lived  through  his  youth  in  Edgar  County,  his  parents  having  come  into  Illi- 
nois from  Indiana,  when  he  was  about  three  years  old.  He  was  born  in  1829 
and  while  living  in  Edgar  County,  he  was  engaged  helping  his  father  in  farm- 
ing and  running  a  carding  machine.  When  the  family  came  to  Vermilion  County 
they  located  in  Georgetown  and  engaged  in  wool-carding.  This  particular  mem- 
ber of  the  family  lived  with  his  parents  learning  the  wagon-maker's  trade  and 
helping  in  the  mill  until  1857,  when  he  went  to  Northwest  Missouri,  where  he 
had  a  carding-machine  and  also  worked  at  carpentering.  He  stayed  there  but 
two  years,  however,  and  returned  to  Georgetown,  where  he  worked  at  the  car- 
penter's trade  until  1862,  when  he  opened  a  drug  store.  He  was  connected  with 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  for  three  months  as  sutler.  Mr. 
Cowan  married  Miss  Sarah  M.  Tucker,  of  Indiana,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  six  children. 

Dr.  Samuel  H.  Vredenburgh  came  to  Illinois  in  1846  and  began  the  practice 
of  medicine  at  Newtown.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  living  early  settlers  of  the 
county,  if  it  is  permissable  to  call  him  an  early  settler.  His  memory  is  good 
and  he  has  many  interesting  tales  to  tell  of  experiences  of  early  day.  No  one 
conies  so  close  to  one  as  the  practicing  physician,  and  no  one  can  paint  more 
accurate  pictures  of  conditions  of  living  than  the  man  who  was  the  trusted  and 
well  loved  family  doctor.  Dr.  Vredenburgh  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1820  and  began 
life  as  a  teacher  but  changed  the  profession  when  he  was  twenty-six  years  old, 
to  that  of  medicine.  He  belonged  to  the  old  school  of  Allopathic  practice  and 
had  a  large  territory  over  which  he  rode.  Since  he  has  retired  from  active 
practice  he  has  made  his  home  in  Danville.  The  Masonic  order  was  established 
in  Vermilion  County  in  1846.  At  that  time  Danville  was  but  a  small  village 
of  perhaps  500  or  600  inhabitants,  with  six  or  eight  stores. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  state  of  Illinois  was  organized  in  1844  and  that 
Olive  Branch  chapter  should  have  come  into  being  but  six  years  later  is  a  fact 
quite  suggestive  of  the  spirit  of  this  locality.  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No.  38, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.  is  comparatively  one  of  the  ancient  lodges  of  the  state.  The 
first  Worshipful  Master  was  W.  E.  Russell.  John  Payne  was  the  first  Senior 
Warden  and  John  Thompson  was  the  first  Junior  Warden.  This  order  had  a 
great  growth  for  forty  or  more  years,  and  its  influence  was  for  good  in  the 
county. 


180  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

1847  was  the  year  that  John  Charles  Black  came  to  Vermilion  County  with 
his  mother.  He  was  but  a  boy  of  eight  years  of  age  and  he  made  Danville  his 
home  during  his  youth  and  young  manhood.  It  was  from  Danville  he  went  to 
college,  and  in  Danville  lie  lived  after  the  war,  in  which  he  distinguished  himself, 
was  over.  The  subsequent  career  of  General  Black  entitles  him  to  a  place  in  the 
list  of  distinguished  citizens. 

Victor  and  Prosper  LeSeure  were  men,  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Vermil- 
ion County,  coming  sometime  in  the  Forties.  Victor  LeSeure  first  located  in 
Georgetown,  where  he  remained  for  a  while  and  in  1849  moved  to  Danville, 
where  he  became  one  of  the  most  prosperous  merchants.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  after  he  had  changed  his  residence  to  Georgetown  and  then  back  to  Dan- 
ville in  1851  that  he  located  permanently.  In  1876  he  entered  the  hardware 
business  where  he  remained  until  his  death. 

Mr.  LeSeure  married  Caroline  McDonald,  daughter  of  Alexander  Mc.- 
Donald,  one  of  the  prominent  pioneers  of  Vermilion  County,  in  1849.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  daughters  and  one  son.  Mr.  LeSeure 
was  mayor  of  the  city  of  Danville  and  commissioner  of  highways  three  terms. 
He  was  connected  with  many  enterprises  of  the  county,  being  at  one  time  sec- 
retary, treasurer  and  superintendent  of  the  Danville  Gas  Light  Company.  Mr. 
LeSeure's  wife  died  in  the  Seventies  and  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  McDonald 
(nee  Smith). 

Mr.  LeSeure's  oldest  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Yoemans,  his 
next  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Palmer,  and  the  third  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  T.  W.  Elliott.  The  youngest  daughter,  Callie,  died  in  childhood. 
His  son  Frank  LeSeure  married  the  daughter  of  John  Sidell,  but  died  soon 
afterward  when  only  thirty  years  old,  leaving  a  little  daughter. 

W.  J.  Reynolds,  who  was  a  musician  coming  from  a  training  in  Boston, 
organized  the  first  brass  band  in  the  state,  in  1847.  A  reed  band  had  been  or- 
ganized the  previous  year. 

Mr.  Reynolds  maintained  a  band  here  for  thirty  years,  except  a  short  time 
when  the  men  in  his  band  were  in  the  war.  He  devoted  his  time  to  teaching 
music,  and  during  the  war  there  were  twenty  bands  of  which  he  had  been  leader 
in  the  service.  Mr.  Reynolds  organized  and  led  the  first  choir  in  Danville. 

R.  L.  Porter,  M.  D.,  was  a  conspicuous  man  in  Vermilion  County  during  his 
lifetime.  He  was  born  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  came  to  Danville  in 
1848.  He  was  surely  one  of  the  successful  men  of  the  county.  He  had  a  large 
practice  and  his  wife  also  belonged  to  the  profession  and  while  in  Danville  some- 
times did  several  thousand  dollars  of  work  in  that  line  per  year.  Dr.  Porter 
owned  much  land  in  the  county,  and  was  more  or  less  eccentric  as  might  be 
expected.  When  he  felt  his  time  to  die  was  approaching,  he  asked  some  friend 
to  take  him  out  on  his  farm  to  a  spot  secluded  but  beautiful,  which  was  formed 
in  flat-iron  shape  by  the  two  small  streams  of  water  flowing  past.  The  spot  was 
high  and  dry  and  it  was  there  he  wanted  to  be  buried.  Although  away  from  any 
burial  ground,  his  friends  respected  his  wishes  when  he  died  and  he  lies  in  this 
spot  away  from  both  the  living  and  the  dead. 

A.  J.  Richardson  was  a  new  comer  in  1848  and  settled  in  Georgetown.  He 
was  born  near  Boston,  spent  his  childhood  in  New  Hampshire,  and  brought  his 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  181 

parents  to  Indiana,  where  he  spent  his  active  manhood,  coming  to  Vermilion 
County  when  he  was  forty-three  years  old. 

While  in  New  Hampshire  he  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  and  took  charge 
of  the  shop.  After  he  came  to  Eugene,  Indiana,  he  followed  that  trade  but  after 
he  came  into  Vermilion  County  he  spent  his  time  as  farmer  and  stock-raiser. 

Solomon  Mosier  came  to  Pilot  township  in  1848  and  bought  his  home.  He 
brought  his  family  with  him  and  was  always  known  as  a  well  posted  man.  The 
Mosier  family  has  been  a  credit  to  him  and  has  been  looked  up  to  as  one  of  in- 
telligence, talent,  and  general  information,  in  the  neighborhood.  Solomon  Mo- 
sier died  in  1871. 

Jesse  Harris  came  to  Illinois  in  1848,  and  settled  in  Ross  township.  His 
son,  a  young  man  of  twenty-one,  came  at  the  same  time  and  worked  in  the  employ 
of  a  farmer  until  election  time  when  he  went  back  to  Ohio  to  cast  his  first  vote 
which  was  given  to  Zachary  Taylor.  After  he  had  voted  he  came  back  to  Ver- 
milion County  and  soon  had  a  farm  rented  and  saved  money  to  buy  one,  and,  in 
time,  acquired  a  good  property. 

He  served  for  twenty-seven  consecutive  years  as  school  treasurer. 

John  W.  Goodwine  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1848,  and  settled  in  Blount 
township,  where  he  bought  600  acres  of  good  farm  land.  This  he  improved  and 
began  stock  feeding  to  a  large  extent.  From  time  to  time  he  would  add  to  his 
land  until  he  had  6,000  acres.  He  was  a  good  feeder,  and  would  buy  and  feed 
cattle  selling  each  year  from  300  to  500  head  from  the  farms.  He  had  hogs  to 
follow  the  cattle  and  from  these  sales  he  realized  goodly  sums. 

In  1898  he  retired  from  the  more  active  labor  of  caring  for  his  farms  and 
retired  to  a  home  in  Potomac.  In  the  many  years  residence  in  Vermilion  County 
Mr.  Goodwine  saw  the  improvement  go  on  until  the  great  change  has  come,  and 
where  it  was  wild  and  unimproved  country  the  farms  are  to  the  utmost  stage 
of  development. 

Rev.  William  H.  Webster,  D.  D.,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1848  and  is 
able  to  tell  much  of  conditions  in  this  section  from  that  time  to  this.  Rev.  Web- 
ster came,  an  orphaned  boy,  with  his  sister  who  was  a  Methodist  preacher's 
wife.  She  died  soon  after  coming  to  this  county,  and  her  husband  went  away 
soon  afterward  leaving  the  lad  to  make  his  own  way.  He  was  born  in  New 
York  state  in  1835,  and  came  west  in  1848,  and  was  left  to  make  his  way  when 
he  was  fourteen  years  old.  This  he  did  by  sawing  wood,  working  in  a  livery 
barn,  painting  and  in  fact,  doing  anything  he  could  find  to  do.  He  took  care  of 
fires  for  a  lumber  kiln  at  the  corner  of  Vermilion  and  North  Streets,  where  the 
Illinois  Printing  Company  is  now  located.  Across  the  street  south,  the  little  old 
frame  building  of  the  Methodist  church  stood.  Here  church  services  were  held 
on  Sunday  and  during  the  week  school  was  kept  by  Mr.  Munsell.  This  school 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Danville  Seminary.  At  recess  time  the  pupils  of  the 
school  would  come  over  to  see  the  lad  who  was  attending  the  fires  and  talking 
of  their  studies  he  determined  to  go  to  school.  So  it  was  the  next  fall  he  was 
enrolled  as  a  pupil.  He  worked  nights  and  mornings  and  Saturdays  to  pay 
his  expenses.  Sometimes  he  had  to  stay  out  of  school  several  weeks  to  get 
enough  to  pay  his  bills  but  he  would  go  back  and  work  harder  than  ever.  In 
this  way,  working  and  going  to  school  and  teaching,  he  completed  the  course 


182  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  study  in  the  Danville  Seminary,  the  Asbury  University  of  Indiana  and  the 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  where  he  graduated  in  the  classical  course  in  1859. 
He  joined  the  Methodist  church  at  a  camp  meeting  near  Danville.  He  taught 
school  at  several  places,  among  which  the  Seminary  at  Shelbyville  is  to  be 
counted.  While  teaching  there  he  was  licensed  to  preach.  In  the  winter  of 
1858-9,  he  was  appointed  as  assistant  preacher  on  the  circuit  that  embraced  the 
northern  part  of  Vermilion  County.  He  preached  in  private  houses,  groves, 
barns,  and  in  fact,  any  where  a  congregation  could  be  drawn  together. 

In  1859  ne  became  a  member  of  the  Illinois  conference  and  since  that  time 
his  work  has  always  been  under  the  orders  of  that  body.  His  salary  for  one 
year  was  ninety  dollars  out  of  which  he  was  obliged  to  in  part,  at  least,  pay  his 
board.  For  a  time  he  taught  school  to  pay  his  expenses  as  pastor  of  a  church. 
He  has  served  as  pastor  of  the  best  churches  in  the  conference  and  been  given 
places  of  importance  and  trust.  While  he  has  been  taken  away  from  Vermilion 
County  to  fill  these  places,  he  has  always  had  more  or  less  interest  in  affairs 
of  the  section  and  owned  property  about. 

After  his  term  as  presiding  elder  of  the  Danville  district  ended  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  work  of  the  domestic  Missionary  society,  which  he  had  helped  to 
organize.  Other  work  of  the  conference  has  been  given  him,  which  permits  him 
to  remain  in  his  home.  He  has  been  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
conference.  Mr.  Webster  married  Miss  Augusta  Robinson,  the  daughter  of 
William  Robinson,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  but  one  living  child,  John  W. 
Webster,  an  attorney  of  Danville. 

Mr.  Snyder  came  from  Ohio  in  1849  and  became  a  citizen  of  Pilot  township. 
His  daughter  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Charles  Keesler,  who  came 
to  this  township  in  1858. 

Dr.  C.  V.  Baldwin  was  a  prominent  dentist  of  Danville,  where  he  located  in 
1849,  coming  from  Henry  County,  Indiana.  He  was  but  fifteen  years  old  when 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  Vermilion  County  in  1849,  and  ne  lived  here  until 
in  the  eighties  when  he  changed  his  residence  on  account  of  poor  health  to  Cali- 
fornia. Dr.  Baldwin  studied  dentistry  in  1866  and  became  skilled  in  the  profes- 
sion and  very  popular.  He  is  yet  practicing  the  profession  in  Los  Angeles, 
California.  Dr.  Baldwin's  first  wife  was  Miss  Williams,  the  daughter  of  Amos 
Williams.  She  died  not  many  years  after  they  were  married  and  his  second  wife 
was  Miss  Pierce,  of  Indiana. 

M.  Ganor  has  been  a  well  known  man  in  Danville  for  many  years.  He  came 
with  his  father  from  Long  Island,  where  they  had  their  home  since  coming  from 
Ireland,  in  1849.  They  made  their  journey  from  Chicago  in  wagons,  hiring  a 
man  to  bring  them  from  Chicago  to  Danville  for  $15.  Mr.  Ganor  had  his  farm 
in  what  is  now  northeast  Danville  and  at  one  time  was  better  known  as 
Tinchertown. 

In  1849  John  Lawrence  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  located  in  George- 
town. He  was  a  mechanic  and  brought  his  family  with  him.  His  son  W.  R. 
Lawrence  was  better  known  in  Vermilion  County  than  was  his  father.  He  was 
but  nine  years  old  when  his  father  came  to  Vermilion  County,  and  located  in 
Georgetown  and  he  received  his  education  at  the  Georgetown  Seminary.  In 
1862  he  enlisted  as  private  for  three  years  and  was  promoted  until  he  reached 


OLD  RED  BRIDGE  OVER  THE  VERMILION  RIVER 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  183 

the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant.  In  1864  he  resigned  and  came  back  to  Vermilion 
County.  He  -then  went  to  Bloomington,  where  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
Tipton  and  Benjamin,  and  in  1868  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  went  to 
Boonesville,  Iowa,  and  began  the  practice  of  law,  coming  to  Danville  in  1873, 
where  he  located  and  rapidly  rose  in  his  profession.  Mr.  Lawrence  lived  in  Dan- 
ville until  he  received  the  appointment  which  took  him  to  Oklahoma  where  he 
has  remained  ever  since. 

R.  W.  Cowan,  druggist,  of  Georgetown,  is  the  brother  of  W.  C.  Cowan,  and 
came  to  Vermilion  County  at  the  same  time  with  his  father  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family.  He  enlisted  in  the  Seventy-third  Illinois  Regiment,  and  was 
in  the  battle  of  Perrysville.  He  was  discharged  from  the  army  because  of  ill 
health  after  six  months  and  returning  to  Georgetown  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business.  He  afterward  tried  all  lines  of  mercantile  work  and  at  the  last  settled 
on  the  drug  store. 

In  1850  the  Danville  Seminary  was  incorporated  under  the  provision  of  the 
law  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1849,  permitting  citizens  to  be  incorporated  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  institutions  of  learning.  This  school  was  the  out- 
growth of  the  one  taught  in  the  Methodist  church,  which  was  the  only  institu- 
tion of  learning  where  more  than  primary  studies  could  be  taken.  Without  the 
later  established  public  schools  there  was  no  place  nearer  than  the  Georgetown 
Seminary  or  the  Vermilion  Grove  Academy,  where  the  youth  of  this  section 
could  secure  any  training  in  books.  This  institution  was  handicapped  from  the 
first  by  being  made  denominational.  The  incorporators  were  many  of  them, 
and  indeed  in  the  majority,  members  of  the  Methodist  church  and  the  articles 
of  incorporation  provided  that  a  majority  of  the  trustees  should  be  from  that 
church,  and  that  the  teachers  should  be  appointed  by  its  authority.  Education 
and  educational  institutions  to  reach  the  highest  results  must  recognize  no  limits 
of  church  or  politics.  An  independent  school  would  have  been  much  better 
at  that  time  since  this  drawing  of  the  denominational  line  engendered  a  strong- 
partisan  spirit  and  when  that  creeps  into  anything  young  people  have  to  do 
with  there  are  bitter  feelings  aroused  which  do  not  so  readily  disappear.  That 
this  school  was  well  conducted  there  is  no  doubt,  yet  much  of  the  after  division 
in  the  sentiment  of  those  in  business  and  social  lines  may  be  traced  back  to  the 
bitter  quarrels  among  the  children  who  went  to  school  at  that  time  and  were 
compelled  to  take  sides  in  the  church  differences  which  followed. 

The  board  of  trustees  selected  two  acres  of  land  just  north  of  the  west  end 
of  Main  street  as  it  was  then.  Upon  his  land  the  two-story  building  was  put  up. 
This  building  now  faces  Pine  street,  a  little  north  of  Main  street.  This  school 
was  the  only  institution  of  higher  learning  in  Danville  for  a  year. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  were  granted  a  charter  for  their 
lodge  in  Danville,  July  25,  1850.  The  charter  members  were  John  L.  Tincher, 
Samuel  Frazier,  J.  B.  Gilbert,  Joshua  Hollingsworth  and  H.  J.  C.  Batch. 

The  Higginsville  postoffice  was  established  in  1850. 

The  Vermilion  County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  1850.  The  first  fair  was  held  at  Danville,  and  was  where  the  Pres- 
byterian church  now  stands  on  the  corner  of  North  and  Franklin  streets.  The 
officers  were  elected,  the  fair  was  held  and  the  premiums  awarded,  all  in  the 


184  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

same  day.  There  was  no  gate  fare  charged  and  only  $40  paid  in  premiums. 
This  amount  must  have  been  realized  from  the  license  charged  to  those  who  kept 
stands  on  the  grounds.  The  second  fair  was  held  down  on  the  bottoms  near  the 
"old  red  bridge." 

Abel  Wolverton  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1850  and  entered  160  acres 
of  land  being  the  N.  E.  one-fourth  section  18,  town  23,  range  n.  He  soon 
bought  160  acres  more  and  then  increased  this  amount  to  400  acres.  The  fol- 
lowing year  his  family  came  and  occupied  the  land.  In  the  family  was  a  son 
of  fifteen,  who  was  to  be  a  strong  factor  in  the  development  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  county.  Charles  Wolverton  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  before 
and  during  the  war.  He  enlisted  in  Company  H,  joth  Illinois  Volunteers.  This 
regiment  did  duty  most  of  the  time  of  their  enlistment  at  Camp  Butler,  Spring- 
field, and  at  Alton.  They  did  garrison  duty  at  Alton  and  furnished  numerous 
details  for  guarding  prisoners.  Mr.  Wolverton  rose  to  rank  of  Colonel.  Since 
the  war  Mr.  Wolverton  has  been  conspicuous  in  business  and  politics.  He  is  a 
republican. 

When  Henry  B.  Kester  was  three  years  old  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  from 
West  Virginia  to  Morrow  County,  Ohio,  and  when  he  was  twenty-two  years 
old  he  came  to  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  He  had  his  trade  of  carpenter 
before  he  came  and  went  directly  to  work  in  building.  His  work  increased  to 
such  an  extent  that  he  employed  many  men  to  help  him  get  out  his  contracts. 

Mr.  Kester  was  married  to  a  girl  from  his  childhood  home  in  1853.  HC 
continued  working  at  his  trade  until  the  Civil  war  broke  out.  Then  he  joined 
Company  E,  149111  Illinois  Regiment  under  the  command  of  Captain  Laferty  and 
Colonel  W.  C.  Kifner. 

This  company  did  garrison  duty  until  the  close  of  the  war  and  at  Dalton, 
Georgia,  on  the  2/th  of  January,  1866,  Mr.  Kester  was  honorably  discharged. 
The  rest  of  Mr.  Kester's  life  has  been  spent  in  the  filling  of  his  duty,  as  an 
honest  citizen. 

Mr.  Abner  Warner  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1850  and  herded  cattle  on 
the  prairies.  These  he  drove  across  the  country  to  the  Philadelphia  markets. 
Later  he  located  in  Vermilion  County  and  he  died  in  Rossville  in  1888.  The 
two  children  of  this  family  are  well  known,  particularly  the  elder  brother, 
Charles  W.  Warner.  Charles  Warner  went  with  his  parents  from  his  birth- 
place to  near  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  and  went  to  school  there.  He  then  went 
into  a  printing  office  in  Rossville,  after  which  he  taught  school  for  awhile. 
When  he  had  finished  his  last  school  he  went  into  the  office  of  the  Hoopeston 
Chronicle,  which  at  that  time  was  owned  by  Dale  Wallace.  Here  he  remained 
for  three  years.  Mr.  Warner  bought  the  Hoopeston  Chronicle  in  1882,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  editor  and  owner  of  the  paper.  He  was  appointed,  or 
rather  elected,  because  of  the  number  of  candidates,  postmaster  of  Hoopeston 
in  1889  and  has  continued  in  office  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  Cleve- 
land's administration. 

Mr.  Warner  is  recognized  as  the  leader  in  the  republican  ranks  in  the  north 
end  of  the  county.  His  extensive  political,  business  and  social  relations  have 
given  him  a  large  acquaintance  and  he  is  favorably  known. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  185 

John  L.  Stewart  was  a  well  esteemed  citizen  of  Vermilion  County  for  thirty 
years  coming  in  1851  and  locating  in  Newell  township  on  a  tract  of  wild  land, 
twelve  miles  northeast  of  Danville.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York  state,  but 
spent  his  youth  in  Indiana.  He  lived  on  his  260  acres  in  Newell  township  until 
1879,  wnen  he  sold  and  went  west  on  account  of  poor  health.  He  located  on 
a  farm  in  Oregon  near  Portland,  but  stayed  only  three  years,  when  he  re- 
turned and  lived  in  Bismarck  until  he  died  in  1882. 

A.  LeSeure  came  to  Georgetown  in  1851  and  began  selling  groceries,  the 
firm  being  LeSeure  and  Probst.  This  continued  for  two  years  when  Mr.  Probst 
sold  out  to  the  other  partner  and  Mr.  LeSeure  continued  the  business  until  in 
1861  he  enlisted  in  the  7th  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  was  in  service  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  His  regiment  was  in  several  battles. 

Steven  Brothers  was  born  in  Ohio.  He  was  trained  to  be  a  farmer  and  a 
blacksmith.  He  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1855,  coming  first  to  Bloomfield 
and  then  to  Danville,  where  he  worked  as  a  blacksmith.  He  has  gone  back  to 
Ohio  and  also  to  New  York  and  as  well  to  Nebraska,  but  he  has  always  come 
back  to  Illinois.  Mr.  Brothers  was  in  Company  I  under  Captain  Vinson.  He 
was  second  lieutenant.  At  the  battle  of  Perrysville,  he  was  knocked  over  with  a 
ball  but  was  not  injured. 

John  McFarland  was  known  as  one  of  the  best  farmers  of  Oakwood  town- 
ship, while  he  lived.  He  came  from  Ohio,  and  married  a  Miss  Oxford,  in 
Perrysville,  Indiana.  They  had  four  children.  After  Mrs.  McFarland  died 
he  came  to  Illinois.  In  1856  Mr.  McFarland  married  the  widow  of  Aaron  Dai- 
bey.  The  McFarland  farm  was  a  landmark  for  many  years,  and  even  yet 
when  it  has  changed  hands,  that  farm  is-  pointed  out  to  strangers  as  the  Mc- 
Farland farm. 

The  Union  Seminary  was  a  joint  stock  company  that  was  organized  in  1851 
by  citizens  who  were  not  members  of  the  church  which  controlled  the  other  in- 
stitution of  learning.  The  trustees  were  L.  T.  Palmer,  A.  D.  Sconce,  S.  G. 
Craig,  Guy  Merrill  and  Hamilton  White.  They  secured  good  grounds  in  what 
was  the  north  part  of  town  and  built  a  good  building  on  it.  The  building  was 
on  the  site  of  the  Kimbrough  home,  at  the  corner  of  Vermilion  and  Seminary 
streets.  There  were  about  three  acres  around  the  building. 

The  course  of  study  and  instruction  of  one  school  was  about  the  same  as  that 
of  the  other,  but  it  was  impossible  for  the  pupils  to  believe  this  and  so  the  chil- 
dren wasted  their  emotions  in  bitterness  of  jealousy  and  there  was  at  times  war 
over  the  conditions  of  education  in  Danville.  Memories  of  discord  have  not 
yet  left  the  hearts  and  brains  of  the  men  and  women  who  were  a  part  to  all  this 
strife  in  their  childhood. 

In  1862  the  common  school  system  was  adopted  in  Danville  and  that  did 
away  with  these  rivals  and  stopped  the  ill  feeling. 

James  H.  Miller  so  long  the  tax  collector  for  the  county  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  came  to  Ohio  in  1846  staying  there  for  about  six  years,  when  he 
came  to  Vermilion  County  and  located  at  Danville.  He  accumulated  property 
and  had  by  reason  of  his  energy,  honesty  and  good  qualities,  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence of  the  community.  For  twenty  years  and  more  he  held  the  office  of 
tax  collector  and  part  of  the  time  was  also  assessor  of  Danville  township. 


186  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

All  the  revenue  derived  from  taxation  passed  through  his  hands.  Mr.  Miller 
was  left  an  orphan  when  a  small  boy,  and  his  sole  income  was  seventy-five 
cents  per  week,  he  paying  his  own  expenses  out  of  this  sum.  When  his  latter 
life  of  comfort  and  ease  is  considered,  together  with  the  statement  of  his  early 
privations,  it  seems  a  wonderful  country  which  can  help  a  boy  to  succeed  in  this 
way.  Mr.  Miller  married  a  daughter  of  John  Johns  and  was  the  father  of  two 
boys,  one  only  of  whom  lived  to  manhood. 

In  1852  William  Hess  came  to  Vermilion  County  with  his  father's  family, 
and  settled  at  Brooks  Point.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until  the  death  of  his 
mother  in  1854,  after  which  he  worked  around  on  farms,  going  into  Champaign 
County  and  farmed  for  himself  for  three  years.  In  1861  he  married  Miss 
Jane  Clifton,  who  was  born  in  this  county.  He  left  Champaign  County  and  com- 
ing back  to  Vermilion  settled  near  Georgetown,  where  he  remained. 

John  Cage  came  to  Vermilion  County  when  he  was  a  young  man  of  about 
twenty  years  old,  coming  in  1852  to  take  charge  of  the  Denmark  mill.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Kerr  of  the  old  home  town  in  1868,  and  rented  the  McCarty  farm  in 
Georgetown  township.  He  remained  here  for  two  years  when  he  bought  a  farm 
of  his  own,  which  he  improved  and  upon  which  he  remained. 

The  Vermilion  County  Agricultural  Society  was  organized  in  1852,  at  Dan- 
ville. After  its  first  fair  it  located  grounds  at  Catlin.  Hon.  J.  H.  Oakwood  was 
from  the  first  its  most  determined  and  energetic  promoter. 

Thomas  Hoopes,  the  founder  of  Hoopeston,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in 
1853.  He  had  made  a  success  of  living  in  Ohio  and  had  a  farm  with  all  improve- 
ments to  be  desired  in  that  state  but  he  came  to  Illinois  to  look  at  the  prospects 
of  the  country.  It  would  seem  that  an  eight  hundred  acre  farm  near  Marion, 
Ohio,  would  have  all  the  best  possible  conditions  for  any  one,  but  it  appears  he 
was  attracted  to  the  newer  country  and  turned  with  interest,  if  not  longing, 
toward  the  natural  grazing  lands  of  the  prairies  of  the  northern  part  of  Ver- 
milion County. 

That  he  was  satisfied  with  conditions  and  the  prairie  called  him  with  force, 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  bought  480  acres  of  land  from  Mr.  W.  I.  Allen 
on  which  he  established  his  new  home.  This  land  lay  northwest  of  the  present 
site  of  Hoopeston,  crowning  a  hill  on  the  old  Chicago  road.  As  time  passed  Mr. 
Hoopes  added  to  his  land  until  he  had  seven  or  eight  thousand  acres.  He  became 
the  most  extensive  stock  raiser  in  this  part  of  the  country  sending  his  product 
to  the  eastern  markets,  and  spending  his  profits  for  more  land.  In  July,  1871, 
the  tracks  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R.  were  laid  across  his  farm  and  the  year  fol- 
lowing the  Lake  Erie  &  Western  was  running  trains.  Mr.  Hoopes  saw  the  op- 
portunity to  build  a  town  of  importance  at  the  crossing  and  at  once  had  his 
farm  platted  and  sold  it  for  town  lots.  He  later  sold  one  thousand  acres  of  his 
farm  to  the  firm  of  Snell  and  Taylor,  who  platted  it  and  sold  it  for  town  lots. 
After  that  Mr.  Hoopes  did  not  do  much  save  to  oversee  his  invested  interests. 
He  traveled  much  in  search  of  health  for  his  wife.  Mrs.  Hoopes  died  in  1886 
and  Mr.  Hoopes  survived  her  until  1893. 

Joseph  G.  English,  who  for  years  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Dan- 
ville, came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1853.  He  came  into  the  Wabash  Valley  with 
his  father's  family  when  he  was  but  nine  years  old  and  made  their  home  in 


MRS.  HENRY  B.  KESTER 


HENRY  B    KESTER 


THOMAS  WILLIAMS 


JOHN    WILLIAMS 


MRS.  NOAH  E.  HUBBARD 


NOAH-  E.    IIUBBARD 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  187 

Perrysville,  Indiana.  He  began  earning  his  living  when  he  was  fourteen  years 
old,  going  into  the  service  of  the  firm  of  Taylor  and  Linton  of  La  Fayette, 
Indiana.  He  remained  here  for  three  years.  He  was  employed  to  sweep  out 
the  store  and  do  odd  work  about  and  on  market  days  he  had  to  get  up  by  three 
or  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  get  ready  for  the  Dunkards  who  took  advantage 
of  the  early  hours  to  do  their  marketing.  His  wage  for  such  service  was  his 
board  and  clothing.  But  the  discipline  was  good  for  him  and  besides  the  knowl- 
edge he  gained  of  mercantile  matters,  he  learned  to  control  himself  and  acquired 
habits  which  stood  him  in  good  place  in  after  years.  After  he  had  been  with 
this  firm  for  five  years  it  failed  and  he  went  back  to  Perrysville,  and  secured 
a  place  in  a  general  store,  where  he  received  a  salary  of  forty  dollars  per  month. 
Inside  of  three  years  he  had  saved  four  hundred  dollars  and  he  determined  to 
settle  down  and  marry.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Hicks,  a  pioneer  of 
Perrysville,  who  had  a  fine  property.  In  1844  Mr.  English  went  into  partner- 
ship with  his  father-in-law,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hicks  and  English.  Their 
stock  consisted  of  everything  possibly  needed  and  they  were  always  the  market 
for  any  produce  there  was  to  sell.  This  produce  was  shipped  down  the  Wabash 
river  to  the  Ohio  and  then  either  to  Cincinnati  or  on  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  New  Orleans.  Since  this  produce  was  carried  on  flat  boats  many 
times  Mr.  English,  as  a  young  man,  became  one  of  the  oarsmen.  In  1853  Mr. 
English  came  to  Danville,  having  sold  out  his  store  in  Perrysville.  He  at  once 
began  a  partnership  with  John  L.  Tincher,  which  was  ended  only  by  death. 
Mr.  Tincher  had  married  a  sister  of  Mr.  English's  wife,  so  they  were  bound 
by  other  ties  than  those  of  business. 

This  general  store  was  a  profitable  venture  but  the  firm  was  made  the  as- 
signees of  the  Stock  Security  Bank,  a  wild-cat  institution,  which  was  forced  into 
bankruptcy  in  the  panic  of  1856-7.  It  was  then  that  the  general  store  of  Tincher 
&  English  was  disposed  of  and  the  entire  attention  of  the  firm  was  given  to  the 
bank.  They  gradually  began  transacting  a  brokerage  and  exchange  business 
which  grew  into  a  private  bank. 

In  1863  the  National  Bank  bill  passed  congress  and  these  gentlemen  sought 
a  charter  and  organized  a  national  bank.  Mr.  English  was  made  president  of 
this  bank  and  continued  in  that  position  until  1899.  During  these  years  Mr. 
English  has  been  very  active  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  life  of  Danville. 
He  invested  largely  in  land  throughout  the  county  and  had  much  profit  from  his 
real  estate  deals.  Mrs.  (Hicks)  English  died  in  1864,  having  been  the  mother  of 
seven  children.  In  1865  Mr.  English  married  Mrs.  Partlow,  a  widow  with  two 
children.  By  this  wife  Mr.  English  became  the  father  of  two  children,  only  one 
of  whom  lived  to  grow  to  manhood.  This  second  wife  died  in  1886  and  in  1899 
Mr.  English  again  married,  this  time  it  was  to  Mary  E.  Forbes,  the  widow  of 
Thomas  Forbes,  and  daughter  of  William  Hessey,  a  pioneer  of  Vermilion 
County. 

Mr.  English  was  very  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  almost  by  his  own  effort  organized  the  second  church  in  Danville, 
better  known  as  Kimber  Methodist  church.  He  lived  retired  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  having  met  reverses  in  money  matters  and  suffered  failing  health. 
Mr.  English  died  in  the  spring  of  1909. 


188  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Mr.  A.  G.  Webster  was  a  merchant  in  Danville  for  thirty  odd  years,  coming 
in  1853  with  a  small  stock  of  dry  goods  from  La  Fayette,  Indiana.  He  continued 
in 'the  dry  goods  business  until  1856,  when  he  sold  out  his  stock  and  set  up  a 
grocery  store.  His  birth  place  was  St.  Albans,  Vermont.  He  spent  his  life  in 
Danville  from  1853  to  the  time  of  his  death  which  occurred  in  about  1907. 

C.  D.  Henton  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1853  having  spent  his  earlier 
life  in  Fountain  County,  Indiana.  He  located  in  Myersville,  where  he  practiced 
his  profession  until  1872,  when  he  came  to  Danville,  where  he  remained  as  long 
as  he  lived.  Dr.  Henton  married  a  Miss  Gundy,  sister  to  Andrew  and  Francis 
Gundy. 

Asa  H.  Guy  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1853,  and  located  in  Georgetown, 
where  he  taught  school.  Mr.  Guy  was  elected  surveyor  of  Vermilion  County  by 
the  republicans  in  1855.  This  office  he  held,  off  and  on  for  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years.  He  has  laid  out  and  surveyed  the  villages  of  Fairmount,  Catlin,  a  part  of 
Hoopeston  and  as  well  Paxton  and  other  towns.  In  1862  Mr.  Guy  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  revenue  assessor,  which  office  he  held  until  1865.  Mr.  Guy 
was  the  father  of  seven  children.  His  oldest  son,  Charles  V.  Guy  was  for  many 
years  superintendent  of  county  schools,  and  afterward  in  the  abstract  office. 
His  younger  son,  J.  Milton,  M.  D.,  has  been  a  successful  physician  in  Danville, 
whose  practice  extends  throughout  the  county.  Dr.  Guy  is  one  of  the  leading 
physicians  of  the  city  and  it  is  right  to  say  county  as  well.  He  is  a  progressive 
practitioner  and  ranks  with  the  best. 

George  A.  Fox  was  closely  identified  with  the  local  politics  of  Oakwood 
township.  He  came  from  Pennsylvania  in  1853  directly  to  Vermilion  County, 
Illinois.  The  year  following  his  coming  to  Oakwood  township  he  bought  240 
acres  of  land,  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  In  the  following  November  Mr. 
Fox  was  married  to  Margaret  Oakwood,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Henry  Oak- 
wood.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  of  whom  have  taken  their 
places  in  the  world  with  credit.  When  he  came  to  Vermilion  County  he  drove 
a  flock  of  sheep. 

Mr.  Fox  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1856  and  served  in  that  capacity 
until  1870.  He  was  supervisor  for  four  years.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  of 
Oakwood  township.  In  Vance  township  he  was  assessor  and  collector  for  three 
years.  He  was  school  director  for  many  years  and  as  well  was  school  trustee 
for  three  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  for  many  years 
and  was  class  leader  for  some  time. 

Peter  Byer  the  man  with  whom  a  pair  of  shoes  is  always  associated,  came 
from  Germany.  He  stopped  in  Rochester  on  his  way  to  learn  something  more 
about  shoes.  He  then  started  for  Vermilion  County  with  the  expectation  of 
buying  land.  Before  he  could  get  there  however,  the  bank  in  which  he  had  his 
money  failed  as  banks  too  often  did  in  those  days,  and  Mr.  Byer  was  penniless. 
Nothing  remained  for  him  then  but  to  go  to  work  with  his  trade  of  shoemaking. 
He  did  this  but  did  not  have  to  depend  upon  such  work  for  long,  for  as  time 
passed  he  not  only  did  not  have  to  do  the  drudgery  of  shoe  making  but  he 
accumulated  much  valuable  property.  Mr.  Byer  had  some  difficulty  before  he 
died,  but  he  was  always  well  esteemed  by  his  neighbors  and  when  he  died 
there  were  many  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  citizen  whom  everybody  liked. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  Ib9 

John  McMahan  came  to  Danville  in  1854.  He  followed  his  trade  as  a  black- 
smith until  about  1870.  Squire  McMahan  was  well  known  and  well  liked. 
He  had  a  wide  influence  and  died  a  well  honored  citizen  of  the  community.  In 
1869  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Danville  and  in  1872  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  and  police  magistrate,  both  of  which  offices  he  held  for  many  years. 

John  Kilborn  came  to  Danville  in  1854  after  a  life  of  more  than  usual  prefer- 
ment in  Ohio.  He  was  almost  forty  years  old  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  was 
well  able  to  take  his  place  as  a  leader  at  once.  He  was  intersted  in  land  specula- 
tion and  gave  his  entire  time  to  this. 

Mr.  Kilborn  built  and  improved  the  house  long  known  as  the  Hooton  place, 
and  in  1862  moved  on  his  farm  in  Danville  township. 

In  1854  Jacob  Yapp  moved  his  harness  and  trunk  factory  from  Cuba,  New 
York,  to  Georgetown,  Illinois,  under  the  firm  name  of  Yapp  &  Co.  This  firm 
continued  one  year  when  Mr.  Yapp  bought  out  the  business  and  formed  a  part- 
nership with  James  Jackson,  which  continued  until  Mr.  Jackson's  death,  when 
Mr.  Yapp  took  sole  charge  of  it  until  1861.  He  then  gave  it  up  and  gave  all 
his  attention  to  the  hotel  business,  which  he  had  opened  three  years  before. 
He  also  ran  the  hack  line  from  Danville  to  Paris,  also  having  charge  of  the 
mail  route.  In  1864  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace;  in  1868  he  became  a 
hardware  merchant. 

James  H.  Phillips,  who  has  probably  resided  in  Danville  longer  than  any 
other  person  not  a  native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  was  born  in  Sussex  County, 
Delaware,  September  22,  1832.  In  1850  just  as  he  was  about  to  enter  Delaware 
College  from  the  preparatory  school  at  Newark,  Mr.  Phillips,  by  reason  of  an 
unfortunate  venture  in  a  cargo  of  coffee  bought  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  by  the  super- 
cargo of  a  barque  belonging  to  his  father,  was  compelled  to  give  up  all  hope 
of  a  collegiate  education,  and  return  home  and  to  work.  Four  years  thereafter, 
through  the  kindly  influence  of  Levin  T.  Palmer,  now  deceased,  and  the  loan 
of  twenty-five  dollars,  by  a  friend,  in  his  native  town,  Mr.  Phillips,  after  a  five 
days'  journey  from  Baltimore,  Maryland,  by  rail,  canal  and  stage  coach,  arrived 
at  Danville,  November  20,  1854,  and  at  once  entered  the  employ  of  Tincher 
&  English,  as  their  bookkeeper.  On  the  night  of  his  arrival  in  Danville  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Palmer,  Mr.  Phillips  called  at  the  store  and  before  leaving,  Mr. 
Tincher  said,  "Do  you  wish  to  go  to  work  in  the  morning,  or  look  around  the 
town  ?"  The  reply  promptly  came :  "I  want  to  begin  my  duties  at  once."  In 
May,  1860,  Mr.  Phillips  was  appointed  agent  for  Danville  of  the  Home  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  New  York,  and  he  enjoys  the  enviable  distinction  of 
being  in  one  business  the  longest  continuous  number  of  years  of  any  business 
man  in  the  city,  if  not  in  the  entire  state  of  Illinois.  The  Danville  agency  is 
712  and  its  company  now  has  probably  15,000  agencies.  The  Home  Insurance 
Company,  was,  at  that  time,  only  seven  years  old. 

Mr.  Phillips  has  a  silver  and  also  a  gold  medal  from  the  Home,  denoting 
twenty-five  and  afterward  fifty  years  of  continuous  service  as  local  agent. 
There  are  no  other  gold  medals  of  that  company  in  Illinois,  and  only  five  in  the 
entire  United  States.  Mr.  Phillips  also  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  long- 
est continuous  Building  and  Loan  Association  manager  in  Danville  and  doubt- 
less in  the  entire  state.  His  career  in  that  branch  of  his  business  dates  from 


190  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

November,  1873,  and  he  only  resigned  the  office  of  secretary  of  the  Danville 
Building  Association,  in  favor  of  his  son  Samuel  Frazier  Phillips,  in  January, 
1910.  Mr.  Phillips  was  made  a  Mason  in  1856  by  William  E.  Russell,  then 
Master  of  Olive  Branch  lodge  in  this  city.  By  reason  of  the  death  of  Mr. 
Russell,  Mr.  Phillips  by  special  dispensation  of  the  Grand  Master  of  Masons 
in  this  state,  was  elected  Master  of  Olive  Branch  lodge,  having  never  been 
elected  a  Warden.  This  was  in  1858.  Mr.  Phillips  doubtless  enjoys  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  oldest  living'  Past  Master  Mason  in  Illinois,  whose  first 
election  as  Master  of  a  lodge  dates  as  early  as  1858.  During  the  Civil  War  and 
after  the  office  of  Internal  Revenue  Collector  Eighth  Congressional  District, 
comprising  the  counties  of  Vermilion,  Iroquois,  Ford,  Champaign,  Piatt,  Macon, 
Moultrie,  Cumberland,  Douglas,  Coles  and  Edgar  was  located  in  this  city,  Mr. 
Phillips  was  Deputy  Collector,  under  W.  T.  Cunningham,  collector. 

Soon  after  the  I5th  of  April,  1865,  Mr.  Phillips,  as  well  as  other  employees 
of  the  U.  S.  government  wore  by  order  of  the  commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue, 
a  band  of  black  crepe  on  the  left  arm  for  thirty  days  in  commemoration  of  the 
death  of  President  Lincoln. 

November  24,  1859,  Mr.  Phillips  was  married  to  Miss  Angeline,  daughter 
of  Captain  Samuel  Frazier.  To  that  union  were  born  the  following  named 
children :  Annie  Laurie,  Jennie  Louisa,  Edwin  Frazier,  Frank  Chipman,  Leona, 
Florence  Josephine,  Samuel  Frazier,  and  Corinne  Angeline.  November  27, 
1909,  these  highly  esteemed  people  celebrated  the  close  of  fifty  years  of  wedded 
life  surrounded  by  their  children,  fourteen  grandchildren,  and  two  hundred 
friends,  many  of  them  of  the  long  ago.  Mr.  Phillips  at  this  date,  December 
3,  1910,  enjoys  robust  health,  and  spends  from  six  to  eight  hours  daily  in  the 
Insurance  and  Building  Association  office  of  Phillips,  Snapp  &  Espencheid,  of 
vvhich  firm  he  is  yet  an  active  member. 

Joseph  M.  Satterthwait  was  another  of  the  new  comers  of  1854.  He  settled 
on  a  farm  near  Rossville  in  Vermilion  County.  He  was  the  third  postmaster  of 
Rossville. 

In  1862  he  moved  into  Indiana  and  settled  near  Indianapolis,  where  he  re- 
mained for  ten  years  when  he  returned  to  Illinois  and  settled  at  Hoopeston. 
where  he  lived  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  on  September  21,  1877.  Mr.  Satter- 
thwait left  four  daughters,  all  of  whom  were  settled  in  homes  of  their  own.  He 
lived  a  strict  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

W.  R.  Nesbitt  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1855,  and  starting  with  little 
of  this  world's  goods  he  accumulated  a  good  farm.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the 
fruit  culture  to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  man  of  recent  years.  Mr.  Nes- 
bitt has  been  prominent  in  the  Holiness  movement  of  the  county,  which  has 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  institution  of  learning  located  at  Georgetown. 

Asa  M.  Bushnell,  the  Bismarck  merchant  and  moneyed  man  of  Vermilion 
County,  came  with  his  parents  to  Vermilion  County  while  yet  a  small  boy  in 
about  1855.  They  first  settled  in  Newell  township,  but  after  a  few  years  moved 
back  to  Cook  County,  returning  to  Vermilion  County  in  a  few  years  when  they 
settled  in  Rossville.  In  1873  he  began  his  career  as  a  merchant.  He  afterward 
went  to  Bismarck,  where  he  was  subsequently  postmaster  and  in  a  general 
merchandise  store  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Francis  M.  Gundy. 


JAMES  H.    PHILLIPS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  191 

Mr.  Spencer  N.  Monroe  opened  a  jewelry  store  in  a  small  frame  house  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  plaza  in  1855.  From  here  he  went  to  No.  67  West 
Main  street.  Here  he  remained  as  a  fixture  of  the  street,  others  coming  and 
going  around  him,  but  his  store  was  the  same  for  many  years,  until  his  death. 

Peter  Walsh,  another  well  known  citizen  of  Danville,  came  in  this  same 
year  of  1855.  He  came  from  New  York  city,  an  orphan  seeking  friends.  He 
enlisted  in  the  Union  army  in  1861  and  served  three  years  doing  good  service. 
He  was  in  Company  K,  Thirty-seventh  Illinois  Volunteers.  After  the  close 
of  the  war  he  studied  law,  attending  the  law  school  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1867.  While  studying  he  was  in  the  office  of 
Mark  Hawes.  Mr.  Walsh  was  popular  and  held  several  offices  of  trust.  He 
was  city  attorney,  for  five  terms  and  states  attorney  for  the  county. 

Danville  had  a  new  city  charter  in  1855. 

The  Newell  Horse  Company  was  organized  in  1854  and  held  its  first  quar- 
terly meeting  in  October  of  that  year.  This  company  was  composed  of  many 
of  the  best  citizens  of  Newell  township.  The  earliest  records  have  been  de- 
stroyed. The  object  and  purpose  of  this  organization  are  expressed  in  the 
preamble  to  the  constitution  as  follows :  "to  shield  us  from  the  depredations  of 
horse-thieves,  counterfeiters,  and  swindlers,  and  to  afford  mutual  assistance  in 
reclaiming  stolen  horses  and  in  apprehending  thieves." 

Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  much  trouble  in  this  part  of  the  county  on  ac- 
count of  horse-thieves — a  man's  property  was  always  in  peril.  Just  over  in  In- 
diana there  was  a  nest  of  horse-thieves  who  combined  counterfeiting  with  this 
other  breaking  of  the  law.  A  combination  against  them  was  imperative.  To 
this  end  John  Deck,  Sr.,  George  Lucky  and  a  few  other  men  who  had  suffered 
from  them  and  vainly  had  urged  other  men  to  organize  some  means  of  protec- 
tion, made  a  compact,  pledging  themselves  to  assist  to  protect  one  another.  Soon 
others  were  attracted  to  the  compact  and  when  the  number  reached  twenty-five,  an 
organization  was  effected  at  a  meeting  at  the  Navoo  schoolhouse,  a  constitu- 
tion and  by-laws  was  adopted  and  officers  elected.  This  body  grew  in  number 
and  efficiency  until  it  became  a  standing  menace  to  the  depredators  and  a  val- 
uable protection  to  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  the  community.  Counterfeiting 
presses  were  captured,  stolen  property  was  recovered,  and  horse-thieves  and 
counterfeiters  ferreted  out  and  apprehended.  The  gang  which  infested  this 
country  was  broken  up  and  one  of  their  number  was  so  thoroughly  overawed 
(his  name  was  Lane)  that  whenever  he  was  asked  for  information  he  gave  it  so 
completely  as  to  convict  his  associates.  He  afterwards  moved  to  another  county 
where  he  and  his  son  became  notorious  as  counterfeiters  and  thieves  and  were, 
both  of  them,  killed.  One  case  of  summary  execution  is  on  record  of  the  early 
days  of  this  organization.  A  horse  had  been  stolen;  the  thief  was  overtaken 
at  Beaver  Lake,  and  he  was  about  to  escape.  Abiah  Lucky  could  not  bear  to  see 
him  get  away  so  he  snatched  a  fowling  piece  from  the  hands  of  a  gamester 
among  the  crowd  and  commanded  a  halt  on  the  part  of  the  man  pursued.  This 
demand  was  not  heeded  and  Mr.  Lucky  shot  him  on  the  spot,  killing  him 
instantly. 

The  meeting  places  of  this  organization  were  at  the  Navoo  schoolhouse  at 
first  and  later  at  the  Rutledge  schoolhouse  and  yet  later  at  the  Smith  school- 


192  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

house.  This  organization  was  one  of  forty-eight  similar  ones,  all  belonging  to 
the  Wabash  general  association  of  detective  companies.  These  companies  saved 
property  and  life  at  a  time  when  nothing  else  could  do  so. 

J.  E.  Tuttle  became  a  resident  of  Vermilion  County  in  1856,  locating  at 
Myersville.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Henton  there,  in  1862, 
and  three  years  later  became  a  graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College.  He  re- 
turned to  Vermilion  County  and  began  practice  at  Blue  Grass.  Here  he  re- 
mained until  1869  when  'he  went  to  Myersville,  practicing  there  until  1874 — 
when  he  went  to  Danville,  where  he  lived  the  rest  of  his  life. 

H.  M.  Kimball  was  one  of  the  men  who  came  from  New  England  and  made 
his  home  in  Vermilion  County.  He  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire  spending 
the  early  part  of  his  life  in  that  state.  He  came  to  the  middle  states  and  did 
some  construction  work  on  the  railroads  in  1856.  A  great  part  of  this  was  the 
stone  piers  and  abutments  of  the  Wabash  railroad  at  Danville.  He  located 
here  and  superintended  that  work  and  when  it  was  complete,  he  established 
the  first  marble  works  at  Danville.  He  later  went  into  the  grocery  business  and 
yet  later  kept  a  furniture  store.  He  accumulated  much  property  and  later  in 
life  retired  and  enjoyed  his  last  years  without  work.  Mr.  Kimball  died  in  1907 
leaving  his  wife  and  one  daughter,  who  had  become  the  wife  of  W.  R.  Jewell, 
Jr.  Another  new  comer  in  1856  was  Mr.  J.  H.  Palmer,  who  made  Danville  his 
home,  coming  from  New  York.  These  two  men  came  from  the  east  and  several 
came  to  the  county  from  the  South,  among  whom  was  J.  P.  Cloyd,  coming  from 
Tennessee.  He  taught  school  for  six  years,  when  he  read  medicine  and  attended 
lectures  at  Rush  Medical  College,  graduating  and  settling  at  Georgetown,  where 
he  practiced  his  profession  ever  since.  He  married  Miss  Hannah  Golden,  a 
native  of  Vermilion  County. 

Joseph  McClure  came  to  Vermilion  County,  a  miller  and  ground  the  first 
grist  in  the  Henderson  and  Kyger  mill.  He  later  was  with  the  firm  of  M.  M. 
Wright. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Daniel  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  Vermilion  County 
for  many  years.  He  was  identified  with  the  coal  interests  of  the  section  dur- 
ing its  most  prosperous  period  more  conspicuously  than  any  other  man  unless, 
perhaps,  Michael  Kelley. 

Mr.  Daniel  was  born  in  Roxbury,  New  York,  in  1835,  and  was  a  young 
man  of  twenty-two,  when  he  came  to  Illinois,  locating  in  Danville.  His  entire 
possessions  at  that  time  was  an  extra  suit  of  clothing  and  $2.50  in  money. 

The  coal  mine  attracted  him  from  the  first,  and  he  worked  in  every  depart- 
ment so  that  his  knowledge  of  the  coal  interests  was  practical  to  the  extreme. 
Mr.  Daniel  accumulated  wealth  and  died  not  only  a  rich  but  a  very  influential 
man.  He  married  the  daughter  of  L.  T.  Palmer. 

Raymond  W.  Hanford  was  a  popular  citizen  of  Danville,  as  lawyer,  editor 
and  politician.  He  came  to  Danville  in  1856  and  was  a  poor  boy.  He  was 
born  in  Ohio.  He  was  obliged  to  leave  home  when  but  fifteen  years  old  to 
learn  the  printer's  trade.  He  studied  law  under  the  instruction  of  J.  M.  Les- 
ley, after  he  came  to  Danville,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859.  He  re- 
sponded to  the  first  call  for  troops  from  the  government,  enlisting  for 
three  months,  and  when  the  term  of  service  was  over  he  reenlisted  for 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  193 

three  years.  He  remained  with  his  regiment  during  all  this  time,  returning 
in  1864  to  Danville  and  went  into  partnership  with  H.  W.  Beckwith  in  the 
practice  of  law.  He  was  elected  county  judge  in  1868  and  held  that  office  for 
more  than  ten  years. 

William  Mann,  the  merchant,  came  from  Philadelphia,  about  this  time,  lo- 
cating in  Danville.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, Company  C,  first  for  three  months,  and  after  the  term  was  ended  he  re- 
enlisted  for  the  remainder  of  the  service.  He  was  in  the  army  until  the  close 
of  the  war  when  he  returned  and  again  became  a  merchant  with  a  line^of 
dry  goods,  remaining  in  this  business  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

In  1857  Abraham  Gernand  settled  in  Danville  and  for  a  year  and  a  half 
was  in  the  lumber  business.  In  the  spring  of  1859  he  bought  320  acres  of  land 
two  miles  north  of  Rossville  and  later  added  to  this  farm  until  the  farm  became 
one  of  value. 

John  Leemon  came  to  this  county  in  1857,  locating  on  a  \\\  acre  farm  of 
unimproved  land  near  Mr.  Hoopes  in  the  northern  part  of  Vermilion  County. 
He  lived  here  alone,  improving  his  farm  and  boarding  at  Mr.  Hoopes. 

John  Beard  has  been  a  conspicuous  citizen  of  Vermilion  County  during  the 
years  he  has  resided  here.  He  came  here  when  but  a  boy,  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  reached  the  years  that  warranted  it  he  became  a  merchant  giving  his.  at- 
tention to  the  grocery  trade.  Growing  ever  of  more  and  more  influence,  Mr. 
Beard  had  the  community  dominated  and  turning  his  attention  to  politics,  he 
was  before  long  the  leader  of  his  party.  It  was  through  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Beard  that  the  democratic  party  grew  in  power  and  Danville  became  a  demo- 
cratic town.  Mr.  Beard  was  a  shrewd  politician  and  had  a  faculty  of  turning 
the  desires  of  men  his  way.  He  possessed  all  the  characteristics  of  a  successful 
politician  and  held  the  city  of  Danville  in  his  power  for  years.  Only  poor  health 
and  at  last  complete  failure  of  strength  weakened  his  power.  He  has  become  a 
confirmed  invalid. 

Leonard  Myers  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1858,  and  began  dealing  in 
stock,  having  a  farm.  This  he  kept  up  for  about  five  years -when  he  moved  to 
Danville  and  began  the  butchering  trade.  At  the  same  time  he  continued  buy- 
ing and  selling  stock,  horses  being  the  particular  line  he  most  favored.  He 
shipped  many  carloads  to  the  east.  He  was  more  than  a  decade  in  the  office 
of  marshal  of  the  city  of  Danville  and  was  a  very  well  known  citizen  of  this 
community. 

Mr.  Myers  was  very  well  liked  by  every  one  and  the  police  department  of 
the  city  was  apparently  his  permanent  care.  Mr.  Myers  spent  his  remaining  life 
in  Danville  after  he  located  here. 

Joseph  Shipner  came  to  Danville  in  1858  and  hardly  became  settled  before 
he  entered  the  army  as  volunteer.  Mr.  Shipner  was  in  the  service  during  the 
war  and  upon  his  return  he  became  superintendent  of  Mr.  Bowers'  mill. 

After  filling  this  position  for  eleven  years  he  and  his  son  formed  a  partner- 
ship and  became  merchants,  taking  the  line  of  groceries. 

T.  H.  Myers,  the  express  agent,  was  very  popular  because  of  his  suave  man- 
ners notwithstanding  he  had  but  minority  influence  in  his  politics.  Mr.  Myers 
came  from  Virginia  and  located  in  Danville  at  a  time  when  southern  ideas  and 


194  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

institutions  were  not  at  all  popular  with  the  majority  of  people.  Mr.  Myers 
opened  a  grocery  store  when  he  first  came  to  Danville  and  later  became  the  agent 
for  the  U.  S.  Express  company  and  yet  later  of  the  American  Express  company. 

Fred  Buy  is  yet  a  grocer  who  came  in  1858.  He  had  been  but  one  year's 
distance  from  Prussia,  when  he  came  and  worked  for  five  years  in  the  Danville 
Woolen  mills.  He  then  began  clerking  in  a  dry  goods  store  where  he  remained 
for  a  year,  then  went  into  the  grocery  store  of  E.  B.  Martin  &  Company.  His 
experience  as  clerk  taught  him  the  business  and  he  has  had  a  grocery  store  of  his 
own  for  these  last  years,  where  he  has  made  a  comfortable  living. 

Harry  Raimer  is  now  starting  to  change  his  residence  which  has  for  thirty- 
two  years  been  in  Danville,  Illinois.  He  came  here  in  1858  and  has  resided  here 
continuously,  ever  since.  He  was  a  tailor  and  has  for  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  made  clothing  for  many  of  the  men  of  Danville  and  vicinity.  Mr. 
Raimer  leaves  this  winter,  with  his  wife  for  the  Pacific  slope  to  make  his  home. 
His  one  daughter  lives  in  Oregon,  and  his  son  lives  in  Danville.  Mr.  Raimer 
married  Miss  Caroline  Payton,  granddaughter  of  Mr.  Valentine  Payton,  Sr. 

Bryon  Haggard  was  a  favorite  merchant  in  the  sixties  and  early  seventies 
in  Danville.  He  was  residing  in  LaFayette,  Indiana,  when  in  1858  he  was 
offered  a  position  in  the  store  of  Mr.  Moore  at  Danville,  which  he  accepted 
arriving  in  his  new  home  in  1858.  Mr.  Moore  sold  out  in  a  few  years  and  Mr. 
Haggard  went  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Miller.  The  firm  of  Miller  &  Hag- 
gard confined  their  line  to  boots  and  shoes  and  continued  until  1861,  when  they 
were  burned  out.  But  they  were  plucky  and  rented  a  small  store  room  and  put 
in  a  new  stock  of  boots  and  shoes,  which  increased  and  when  after  a  short 
time  Mr.  Miller  went  out  of  the  firm,  Mr.  Hagagrd  continued  the  business  as 
long  as  he  lived.  Mr.  Haggard  died  in  1872,  leaving  a  family  of  four  daughters 
as  well  as  his  wife. 

Charles  Keesler  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1858  and  established  his  new 
home  in  Pilot  township.  He  yet  lives  there  a  retired  farmer  of  means.  His  son 
has  been  prominent  in  politics  and  he  himself  was  for  some  time  the  chairman 
of  the  board  of  supervisors. 

James  Knight  came  to  Danville  in  1858,  being  interested  in  work  for  the 
Wabash  railroad.  He  was  conductor  for  a  number  of  years  and  finally  located 
in  Danville,  being  station  agent  for  that  railroad.  Later  he  was  interested  in 
the  boot  and  shoe  business  and  then  in  buying  and  selling  real  estate,  but  he  gave 
up  all  business  for  several  years  before  his  death.  In  1860  Mr.  Knight  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Probst,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  one  son  and 
two  daughters.  Mr.  Knight  died  in  1900.  In  1858  James  Hoover  came  to  the 
eastern  edge  of  Vermilion  county,  where  he  located  in  Stateline.  He  there  was 
in  the  building  trade  and  remained  there  until  1871,  when  he  changed  his  resi- 
dence to  Ross  township,  where  he  had  a  farm  of  160  acres,  upon  which  he  lived 
and  which  he  improved  until  he  retired  to  Alvin  in  1899. 

Among  the  new  comers  of  1859,  one  in  particular  is  to  be  counted,  who  was 
a  man  well  known  at  home  and  away  during  the  years  of  rapid  development  of 
Vermilion  County  in  the  seventies  and  eighties  and  indeed  until  his  death. 
So  prominent  a  citizen  was  he  that  he  has  been  chosen  as  a  distinguished  citizen 
and  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  them. 


JOHN  W.  DALE 


THOMAS  HOOPES 


A.  H.  MOZIEK 


H.  W.  HARRIS 


HERALD  CATLETT 


JAMES  MILLER 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  195 

Dr.  J.  M.  Wilkin  began  his  career  as  a  practitioner  in  Vermilion  County,  in 
1859,  settling  in  Conkeytown.  There  he  remained  until  1863  when  he  went  to 
Fairmount,  where  he  resided  until  1880,  when  he  moved  to  Kansas.  He  made 
several  moves  after  this  and  returned  to  Fairmount  in  1901  and  again  took  up 
his  practice  in  Vermilion  County. 

N.  A.  Kimball  became  a  resident  of  Vermilion  County  in  1859.  His  home 
was  in  New  Hampshire,  and  he  came  to  work  for  Colonel  Chandler,  who  needed 
some  one  to  act  as  weigh-master  in  the  coal  mines.  He  worked  at  this  for 
some  time  and  then  for  three  years  was  farming,  after  which  he  engaged  in 
various  enterprises  until  in  1872  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Chas.  W.  Mor- 
rison, and  went  into  the  furniture  trade.  They  did  business  together  for  two 
years  and  Mr.  Kimball  sold  out  and  four  months  later  took  the  stock  of  coffins 
and  from  that  time  on  carried  on  a  business  of  selling  coffins.  He  kept  up 
this  business  until  his  death. 

The  Farmers  and  Mechanics  Institute  was  organized  in  1859  and  held  an- 
nual fairs  for  many  years  there  afterward.  Their  grounds  were  adjacent  to 
the  limits  of  Danville  as  it  was  at  that  time,  on  the  north,  now  of  Seminary 
Street. 

There  were  sixteen  acres  bought  and  laid  out  and  the  fairs  were  for  a  time 
popular  and  profitable.  A  good  showing  of  blooded  stock  was  always  to  be 
found  there  and  many  mechanical  displays  made  a  crowd  always  to  be  found. 
The  first  officers  were  president,  L.  T.  Dickason ;  vice  president,  James  Knight ; 
secretary,  W.  M.  Bandy ;  assistant  secretary,  W.  S.  McCenathen ;  treasurer, 
V.  LeSeure. 

While  the  vote  to  form  a  new  county  which  came  before  the  town  meeting  in 
1857  was  voted  down,  by  a  big  majority,  the  proposition  to  erect  the  county 
of  Ford  in  1859,  met  an  enthusiastic  support. 

This  same  year  the  question  was  up  before  the  people,  whether  to  continue 
township  organization  and  was  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  continuance. 

The  greatest  land  sale  ever  known  in  eastern  Illinois  and  western  Indiana 
was  conducted  by  John  Sidell. 

John  Sidell  was  living  in  the  northern  part  of  Edgar  County  until  in  1860 
when  he  began  his  operations  in  Vermilion  County.  He  came  into  this  county 
and,  using  borrowed  money,  bought  up  the  land  which  up  to  this  time  had 
been  owned  by  small  farmers.  These  small  farms  he  combined  and  bought  yet 
more  and  more  land.  At  last  he  had  reached  the  amount  of  6,000  acres.  Mr. 
Sidell  was  not  yet  a  rich  land  owner  because  he  did  not  yet  own  any  consid- 
erable extent  unhindered  by  any  debt.  That  fact  occasioned  the  great  sale. 
Mr.  Sidell  spared  no  trouble  nor  expense,  for  the  sale  was  to  be  the  most  exten- 
sive ever  had  in  the  county,  and  it  was  to  be  the  chance  for  him  to  keep  the  re- 
mainder of  the  six  thousand  acres. 

John  Sidell's  father  died  when  he  was  but  eight  years  old  and  he  was  obliged 
to  make  his  own  way  early  in  life.  His  home  was  in  Ohio  and  when  he  was 
nineteen  years  old  he  went  on  horseback  through  Illinois  and  Iowa,  looking  for 
something  to  do  better  than  he  could  find  in  Ohio.  Not  being  satisfied  with 
what  he  found  he  went  back  to  Ohio  and  engaged  to  cut  cordwood  at  thirty- 
three  and  a  third  cents  per  cord.  When  he  went  west  he  was  getting  the  sum 


196  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  twelve  dollars  per  month.    This  was  small  wages  for  hard  work  but  he  stuck 
to  it  until  he  found  something  better. 

When  Mr.  Sidell  came  to  Illinois  he  settled  not  far  from  Paris  in  Edgar 
County  and  grazed  cattle  until  he  could  buy  some  for  himself.  He  was  some- 
thing of  a  carpenter  but  was  determined  to  find  some  means  of  speedily  making 
money.  He  rode  across  Illinois  and  Iowa,  crossing  Illinois  nine  times  on  horse- 
back. He  traveled  through  Texas,  being  in  that  state  before  it  was  one  of  the 
states  of  the  United  States.  Sam  Houston  was  the  great  sovereign  of  that 
country  at  that  time,  and  John  Sidell  built  him  a  house.  At  last  Mr.  Sidell 
looked  upon  the  land  of  southern  Vermilion  County  to  covet  it  and  he  went 
to  work  on  a  great  land  deal.  Borrowing  money  to  make  the  purchase,  he  went 
into  the  farms  of  what  is  now  Sidell  township  and  bought  them  as  far  as  he 
could,  paying  the  price  asked  for  whatever  he  could.  It  is  said  to  this  day  that 
he  was  stopped  only  by  the  determination  of  Mr.  Sconce,  who  in  his  turn  had 
already  transformed  the  small  farms  into  his  fine  farm,  to  keep  the  land.  A 
record  of  an  old  collector's  book  seen  the  other  day  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
farms  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  were  all  small,  of  perhaps  eighty  or 
even  less  acres.  Early  settlers  had  spent  a  limited  sum  in  entering  land  and 
then  he  sold  to  those  coming  afterward  in  yet  smaller  parts.  All  these  small 
farms  were  objects  of  Mr.  Sidell's  desire  and  he  accumulated  seven  thousand 
acres  before  he  sold  out  any.  Mr.  Sidell's  money  came  quickly  when  he  had 
bought  western  cattle  on  these  fertile  fields  made  ever  more  fertile  by  their 
presence.  He  sold  off  his  land  to  the  amount  he  needed  to  carry  him  over  and 
secure  the  land  he  desired  to  save.  Mr.  Sidell  went  into  politics  and  was  elected 
to  the  legislature.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  personality  and  very  generous  im- 
pulses. He  was  liberal  in  giving  to  advance  the  enterprises  he  thought  for  the 
good  of  the  public  welfare.  He  was  instrumental  in  taking  the  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R. 
to  Sidell  and  freely  donated  the  right  of  way.  People  had  confidence  in  him 
and  business  men  invested  their  money  there. 

Mr.  Sidell  was  a  natural  promoter  and  at  one  time  himself  chartered  a  train 
and  ran  it  free  from  Columbus,  Ohio,  to  Sidell,  Vermilion  County,  for  the 
benefit  of  people  who  wanted  to  make  their  homes  in  the  west.  Sidell  was  laid 
out  in  1884  and  Mr.  Sidell  lived  to  see  its  marvelous  growth,  but  not  to  carry 
out  any  possible  plans  he  had  for  its  future.  He  died  in  the  early  days  of  1889 
and  was  buried  with  the  honors  of  the  Masonic  order. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
VERMILION   COUNTY   DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

PUBLIC    SENTIMENT    IN    i860 VOLUNTEERS    TO    THE    SERVICE — REGIMENT    FORMED 

FROM    VERMILION    COUNTY     MEN     WHOLLY    OR    IN     PART WHAT    THE    WOMEN 

DID — NEWCOMERS    FROM     i860    TO     1864 RIOTS     IN      DANVILLE     DURING     THIS 

TIME. 

To  a  reader  of  history  who  studies  causes  and  effects,  Vermilion  County, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war,  presents  interesting  conditions.  The  entire 
country  was  in  an  unsettled  state,  none'  the  less  was  this  section.  Nearly  a 
hundred  years  had  passed  since  the  founding  of  the  new  government  in  Amer- 
ica, and  the  people  subscribing  to  the  constitution  by  which  it  should  be  en- 
forced had  yet  the  same  disagreement  in  the  interpretation  of  this  organ  which 
met  it  at  first  and  they  were  not  satisfied.  The  country  was  extensive  and  con- 
ditions of  living  differed  in  different  sections.  One  part  of  the  country  was  rich 
in  natural  products  and  another  facilities  for  manufacturing.  Little  means  of 
transporting  the  raw  product  from  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  or  of  inter- 
course, each  section  with  the  other ;  ideals  of  all  sorts  diverse  and  strong,  and  con- 
stantly growing  more  intense  ;•  all  these  things  tended  to  separate  the  states  on  the 
geographic  lines.  Such  were  the  conditions  which  naturally  led  the  United  States 
toward  sectionalism.  Below  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  there  was  but  one  ex- 
pressed opinion.  The  institution  which  their  neighbors  to  the  north  hated,  seemed 
to  them  of  absolute  importance  to  their  life.  Anyone  who  did  not  like  the  sys- 
tem of  slavery  must  leave  that  section;  and  people  with  these  sentiments  de- 
veloped in  rising  generations,  did  leave,  coming  often  to  the  nearest  free  state, 
which  was  either  Indiana  or  Illinois.  That  a  state  had  a  right  to  do  anything 
it  desired,  was  accepted  doctrine  in  the  South.  Above  this  imaginary  line  of 
division  a  man  held  more  independent  ideas.  Generally  speaking,  the  majority 
agreed  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  for  each  and  every  citizen 
equally;  that  slavery  was  unconstitutional,  as  well  as  subject  to  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  judgment,  and  protested  against  its  extension.  The  wealth  of  the  South 
came  as  the  result  of  another's  labor,  while  that  of  the  North  came  as  the' 
reward  of  each  man's  efforts.  Sectionalism  increased  constantly,  the  Southern 
states  carrying  the  matter  of  state  rights  so  far  as  to  the  right  to  dissolve  the 
union  of  all  states  at  the  will  of  any  one.  This  the  people  of  the  North  would 
not  admit,  even  to  the  length  of  taking  up  arms  in  defense  of  the  existing 
government.  In  the  Eastern  states  the  people  were,  by  descent  as  well  as 
other  conditions,  liberty-loving  and  independent  of  thought,  and  the  views 
of  the  South  were  appalling  to  the  majority  of  them.  In  the  Western  states, 

197 


198  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

or  rather,  those  which  at  the  time  were  the  Western  states  (particularly  In- 
diana and  Illinois),  the  people  had  such  a  recent  inheritance  of  these  same 
views,  that  the  position  of  the  South  to  them  was  different.  Southern  Illinois 
was  settled  from  the  Southern  states.  This  was  true  of  the  central  part  of  the 
state.  Vermilion  County,  it  has  been  seen,  was  settled  largely  from  Kentucky,  Vir- 
ginia, the  Carolinas  and  Tennessee.  While  some  of  these  people  came  to  get 
away  from  the  institution  of  slavery,  more  of  them  came  with  prejudice  in 
favor  of  the  Southern  ideas  and  institutions.  During  the  fifties  immigra- 
tion came  from  the  East,  and  northern  Illinois  was  dominated  by  the 
ideas  of  that  section.  A  close  observer  of  settlements  in  Vermilion  County 
will  see  this  new  force  coming  in,  like  the  entrance  of  a  different  stream  into 
a  flowing  river,  and  like  the  onrush  of  a  second  mighty  stream,  where  the 
meeting  took  place,  there  were  turbulent  waters.  The  land  of  central  and 
southern  Indiana  and  Illinois  was  a  perpetual  battlefield.  Public  sentiment  in 
Vermilion  County  was  not  all  given  to  either  side  without  conditions.  This 
warfare  was  not  without  its  advantage,  however ;  such  opposition  always 
makes  the  individual  opinions  the  stronger. 

When  the  struggle  actually  came  on,  when  the  flag  of  the  country  was  fired 
upon  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  called  for  volunteers,  the  men 
and  boys  of  Vermilion  County  responded  in  a  goodly  number,  ready  and 
willing  to  defend  the  honor  of  their  land,  even  with  their  lives.  Business  in- 
terests were  laid  aside,  family  obligations  were  suspended,  and  there  was  no 
waiting  to  be  forced  into  the  service  of  their  country  on  the  part  of  the  men 
of  Vermilion  County.  The  many  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends  who  had 
largely  come  into  this  county  from  Tennessee  to  get  away  from  the  institution 
of  slavery  were,  of  course,  kept  from  taking  up  arms  by  reason  of  their  faith, 
yet  many  enlisted  and  of  those  who  remained  at  home  their  help  was  freely 
given  to  their  neighbor  who  could  go  to  the  battlefield,  and  his  family  was  sure 
of  friends  while  he  was  gone.  The  first  call  for  men  was  to  service  for  three 
months.  To  this  call  many  made  response,  and  when  the  time  passed  and  their 
term  of  service  was  over  they  reenlisted.  There  were  several  regiments  in 
which  many  of  the  volunteers  were  men  from  Vermilion  County. 

A  history  of  Vermilion  county  was  published  in  1879,  while  yet  many  of 
the  returned  soldiers  were  living  who  could  tell  the  story  of  those  years  of 
Civil  war,  and  lengthy  reports  of  the  various  regiments  were  available  from 
the  pen  of  participants.  This  history  was  written  by  Mr.  Beckwith,  and  has 
now  been  out  of  print  several  years.  Because  it  is  out  of  reach  of  so  many,  it 
is  deemed  best  to  quote  these  reports  directly  from  its  pages  with  additions  or 
changes  where  the  writers  are  yet  living.  The  regiments  under  consideration 
were  the  25th,  the  37th,  the  73d  and  the  i25th  Illinois  Volunteers.  Of  the 
writers  of  these  reports,  Capt.  Achilles  Martin  and  Col.  William  Mann  .are 
dead.  The  others  are  living. 

TWENTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT    ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEERS. 

[Contributed  by   Captain   Achilles   Martin.] 

The  25th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  three  companies  of  which  (A,  B  and  D)  were  from 
Vermilion  County,  w*as  organized  in  Vermilion  County,  June  i,  1861,  and 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  199 

mustered  into  service  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  August  4,  1861,  and  from  there 
transported  by  rail  to  Jefferson  City,  Missouri,  and  thence  to  Sedalia,  Mis- 
souri, and  marched  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  under  General  Fremont,  in  pur- 
suit of  General  Price's  army,  and  from  thence  to  Rolla,  Missouri,  where,  with 
a  portion  of  Fremont's  army,  it  spent  the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1861 
and  1862,  but  returned  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  in  February,  1862,  under 
command  of  General  Siegel,  and  pursued  General  Price's  army  to  Ben- 
tonville,  Arkansas,  where,  on  the  6th,  7th  and  8th  of  March,  1862, 
the  memorable  battle  of  "Pea  Ridge"  was  fought.  The  25th  Reg.,  having 
been  held  in  support  until ;  early  morn  of  the  third  day,  took  the  front  under 
the  immediate  command  of  General  Siegel,  in  support  of  the  artillery,  which 
opened  the  engagement.  After  a  fierce  contest  with  grape,  canister  and  shell 
at  short  range,  the  enemy's  batteries  were  silenced,  and  the  memorable  order, 
"Up,  25th,  Minutes !  Col.  Minutes !"  was  given  by  General  Siegel  in  person, 
and  the  next  moment  the  regiment,  under  the  most  terrific  fire  of  musketry, 
with  other  troops,  charged  the  enemy  in  a  thick  wood,  where,  after  a  fierce 
and  deadly  contest,  the  enemy's  lines  gave  way,  and  the  whole  army  was  soon 
in  full  retreat,  and  thus  was  victory  brought  out  of  what  but  a  few  hours  be- 
fore was  considered,  by  the  general  commanding,  a  defeat.  The  regiment  was 
highly  complimented  for  its  gallantry  in  this  (its  first)  engagement.  Then,  in 
connection  with  the  army,  it  took  up  the  line  eastward,  where,  after  a  long 
and  tedious  march,  it  arrived  at  Batesville,  in  Arkansas,  and  was  there  de- 
tached from  the  army,  and,  with  nine  other  regiments  under  command  of 
Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis,  marched  eastward  to  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  nine  days,  having  made  an  average  of  about 
twenty-eight  miles  per  day.  The  regiment  then,  by  river  transportation,  joined 
Gen.  Halleck's  army  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  Mississippi,  which  place  was  soon 
evacuated  by  the  enemy;  and  after  a  short  stay  in  Mississippi  marched  east- 
ward under  command  of  Gen.  Buell  by  way  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  to  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  a  distance  of  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust, in  the  most  extreme  heat  and  drouth.  Here  a  few!  days  were  spent  in 
reorganizing  the  army,  when  it  was  ordered  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Bragg's  army, 
then  invading  Kentucky.  Later,  the  battle  of  Perryville,  or  Chaplain  Hills, 
was  fought  between  a  portion  of  the  two  armies,  wherein  the  25th  Reg.,  and 
more  than  sixty  thousand  other  well-equipped  soldiers  were  compelled  to  act 
as  spectators  in  the  slaughter  of  a  portion  of  our  army  under  command  of 
Gen.  McCook,  because  the  general  commanding  said  that  McCook  had  brought 
on  the  engagement  without  his  orders.  After  this  battle  the  regiment  re- 
turned to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  Gen.  Rosecrans  was  put  in  command  of  the 
army,  then  known  as  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  wihich  remained  at  Nash- 
ville until  the  last  of  December,  1862,  when  it  was  advanced  to  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee,  and  met  the  enemy  under  command  of  Gen.  Bragg  at  Stone  River, 
Tennessee,  on  the  3Oth  of  December,  1862,  and  at  the  dawning  of  the  3ist  the 
enemy  attacked  in  great  force.  The  25th  Reg.,  being  in  the  unfortunate  right 
wing  of  our  army,  was  soon  sharply  engaged,  when  the  charge  grew  fierce  and 
deadly.  The  line  on  the  left  of  the  25th  gave  way,  and  being  fiercely  assailed 
in  front  and  left,  the  regiment  was  compelled  to  change  front  under  a  most 


200  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

withering  lire.  Here  the  color-bearer  was  stricken  down  and  the  flag  lay  on 
the  ground,  when  Col.  Williams,  of  the  regiment  (than  whom  no  more  worthy 
patriot  has  died),  raised  the  colors  with  his  own  hands,  and  having  indicated 
the  new  line  to  be  formed,  he  planted  the  flag  firmly,  and  uttered  in  loud  tones 
his  living  and  dying  words:  "Boys,  we  will  plant  the  flag  here  and  rally 
around  it,  and  here  we  will  die !"  The  next  moment,  with  flagstaff  in  hand,  he 
fell.  The  regiment,  after  twice  repulsing  the  enemy  in  front,  finding  itself 
flanked  on  both  right  and  left,  retired  from  its  position  and  fell  to  the  rear, 
leaving  more  than  one-third  of  its  number  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field. 
The  enemy  was  finally  checked,  and  the  battle  continued  sullenly  until  the 
2d  of  January,  1863,  when  Gen.  Breckenridge  made  his  celebrated  assault  on 
the  left  wing  of  our  army.  The  charge  was  brilliant  beyond  comparison.  The 
shock  of  battle  was  terrific.  Our  left  was  broken,  defeated  and  driven  back. 
Fresh  troops  were  in  like  manner  swept  away  like  chaff  before  the  wind.  Fifty 
pieces  of  artillery  were  brought  to  bear  on  the  enemy's  right.  The  earth 
trembled  and  shook  as  a  leaf  in  the  storm  beneath  the  iron  monsters,  as  they 
poured  their  storm  of  death  into  the  advancing  column,  and  yet  their  onward 
march  was  as  the  march  of  destiny,  until  the  shout  from  Gen.  Negley  rang 
out,  "Who'll  save  the  left?"  "The  igth  111.,"  was  the  reply— the  25th  111.  be- 
ing close  in  their  support.  They  did  save  the  left,  and  the  25th  held  the  front 
thus  carried  until  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  while  the  heaps  of  the  enemy's 
dead  testified  to  gallantry  worthy  of  a  better  cause.  The  regiment,  in  con- 
nection with  the  army,  next  marched  south  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Bragg's  army  till 
it  reached  the  Tennessee  River,  near  Stevenson,  Alabama.  To  cross  this  river 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy  and  lay  the  pontoon  bridge  was  given  in  charge  of  this 
regiment  alone;  consequently,  at  early  morn  our  shore  w(as  lined  with  skirmish- 
ers and  a  battery  of  artillery,  while  the  regiment  embarked  in  pontoon  boats  and 
rowed  away  to  the  opposite  shore  a  mile  distant,  drove  the  enemy  back,  laid  the 
bridge  and  was  crossing  the  entire  army  over  by  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  The  sight 
of  this  little  circumstance  was  extremely  grand,  but  the  danger  great.  The  regi- 
ment next  crossed  over  Sand  Mountain  and  Lookout  Mountain  and  entered 
into  the  valley,  again  engaging  the  enemy  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
Georgia,  where  it  left  more  than  two-thirds  of  its  number  among  the  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  field,  all  of  whom  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  This  bat- 
tle, for  severity,  stands  second  to  none  in  the  history  of  the  war,  and  no  regi- 
ment in  the  engagement  suffered  greater  loss  than  the  Twenty-fifth  Illinois. 
The  regiment  was  next  called  to  meet  the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  Chattanooga, 
under  command  of  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  and  when  the  order  came  to  storm  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  was  assigned  the  front,  or  skirmish 
line,  where  it  advanced  slowly  until  within  a  few  rods  of  the  enemy's  guns, 
when,  with  a  simultaneous  charge,  in  connection  with  the  Thirty-fifth  Illinois, 
carried  the  enemy's  works,  captured  their  batteries,  broke  their  lines  on  Mission- 
ary Ridge,  and  made  way  for  a  magnificent  victory.  Along  the  entire  line  here 
again  the  carnage  was  great,  but  the  achievements  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  The 
regiment  was  then  ordered  to  east  Tennessee,  where  it  spent  the  winter  in  various 
unimportant  campaigns,  and  in  the  spring  of  1864  rejoined  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  near  Chattanooga,  under  command  of  Gen.  Sherman,  and  started 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  201 

on  that  memorable  campaign  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  at  which  place  it  terminated 
its  service  and  returned  home  to  be  mustered  out. 

During  the  months  of  this  campaign,  the  endurance  of  both  officers  and  men 
of  the  regiment  was  taxed  to  its  utmost — it  was  one  long  and  tedious  battle, 
often  violent  and  destructive,  then  slow  and  sullen,  both  armies  seeking  advan- 
tage by  intrenching,  manoeuvering,  flanking  and  by  sudden  and  by  desperate 
charges,  the  Twenty-fifth  Illinois,  bearing  its  equal  burden  of  the  toils,  the  dan- 
gers and  losses,  as  will  more  fully  appear  from  the  following  order  or  address, 
delivered  by  Col.  W.  H.  Gibson,  commanding  the  brigade,  on  its  taking  leave  of 
the  army,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  August  20,  1864,  to  wit: 

"Soldiers  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Volunteers:  As  your  term  of  three 
years'  service  has  expired,  and  you  are  about  to  proceed  to  your  state  to  be  mus- 
tered out,  it  is  fitting  and  proper  that  the  colonel  commanding  should  express  to 
each  and  all  his  earnest  thanks  for  the  cheerful  manhood  with  which,  during 
the  present  campaign,  you  have  submitted  to  every  hardship,  overcome  every 
difficulty,  and  for  the  magnificent  heroism  with  which  you  have  met  and  van- 
quished the  foe.  Your  deportment  in  camp  has  been  worthy  true  soldiers,  while 
your  conduct  in  battle  has  excited  the  admiration  of  your  companions  in  arms. 
Patriotic  thousands  and  a  noble  state  will  give  you  a  reception  worthy  of  your 
sacrifice  and  your  valor.  You  have  done  your  duty.  The  men  who  rallied  under 
the  starry  emblem  of  our  nationality  at  Pea  Ridge,  Corinth,  Champion  Hills. 
Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Missionary  Ridge,  Noonday  Creek,  Pinetop  Moun- 
tain, Kenesaw  Mountain,  Chattahoochee,  Peach  Tree  Creek  and  Atlanta,  having 
made  history  for  all  time  and  coming  generations  to  admire,  your  services  will 
ever  be  gratefully  appreciated.  Officers  and  soldiers  farewell.  May  God  guar- 
antee to  each  health,  happiness  and  usefulness  in  coming  life,  and  may  our  coun- 
try soon  merge  from  the  gloom  of  blood  that  now  surrounds  it  and  again  enter 
upon  a  career  of  progress,  peace  and  prosperity." 

THIRTY-SEVENTH    REGIMENT    ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEERS. 

[Contributed  by  Gen.  J.  C.  Black.] 

The  regiment  was  recruited  in  the  counties  of  Lake,  La  Salle,  McHenry. 
McLean,  Cook,  Vermilion  and  Rock  Island,  and  was  organized  at  Chicago,  and 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on  the  i8th  of  September,  1861.  Its 
colonel  was  Julius  White,  since  major-general ;  its  major  was  J.  C.  Black,  now  of 
Danville,  Illinois,  who  recruited  and  took  to  camp  Company  K.  from  Vermilion 
County.  The  muster  role  of  Company  K  showed  representatives  from  many  of 
the  old  families  of  Vermilion  County:  Fithian,  Bandy,  English,  Morgan,  Clapp. 
Brown,  Henderson,  Allison,  Conover,  Black,  Culbertson,  Johns,  Canaday,  Lamm. 
Myers,  Payne,  Songer,  Thrapp,  Delay,  Folger,  Gibson,  Liggett,  and  others. 
Some  of  these  representatives  died  in  service;  some  returned  home  full  of  the 
honors  of  a  well  rendered  service,  and  are  today  prominent  among  our  business 
and  professional  men.  Peter  Walsh,  the  late  prosecuting  attorney ;  William 
P.  Black,  of  Chicago ;  William  M.  Bandy,  editor  of  the  "Post,"  Danville ;  W.  H. 
Fithian,  of  Fithian,  Illinois;  George  H.  English,  and  many  are  farming  in  this 
vicinity.  These  are  of  the  living.  Among  the  dead  we  recall  Fitzgerald.  Mar- 


202  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

latt,  Reiser,  Snider,  Adkins,  Barnard,  Hyatt,  Henderson,  Stute,  Brewer,  Cono- 
ver,  George  Johns  and  James  Culbertson.  These  died  without  fear  and  without 
reproach. 

Company  K  was  distinctly  the  boys'  company ;  its  recruits  were  most  of 
them  under  age  at  the  time  of  enlistment.  In  the  Memorial  Hall  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  are  found  only  two  captured  flags,  one  was  taken  from  the  Mexi- 
cans at  Buena  Vista,  the  other  was  taken  from  the  rebels  at  the  battle  of  Pea 
Ridge  by  the  Thirty-Seventh  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  "The  boys"  did  their 
share  wherever  they  went.  Mustered  into  service  on  the  i8th  of  September, 
they  entered  the  Department  of  the  Missouri  the  next  day,  and  took  part  in 
Hunter's  campaign  against  Price  in  southwestern  Missouri,  marching  to  Spring- 
field and  back  to  Laurine  Caulmint.  In  the  dead  of  winter,  breaking  up  their 
encampment,  they  joined  in  Pope's  campaign  against  the  guerillas.  In  the 
spring  of  1862  the  Thirty-seventh  set  out  on  the  route  for  northwestern  Arkan- 
sas, and  participated  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Pea  Ridge  on  the  6th,  7th  and  8th 
of  March,  which  raged  with  especial  fury  on  the  7th  near  Lee  town,  when  the 
Thirty-seventh  received  the  charge  of  McCullough's  and  Mclntosh's  column, 
and  when  in  thirty  minutes  it  lost  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  out  of  an  ef- 
fective present  force  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty ;  but  the  charge  was  broken,  and 
the  enemy  withdrew. 

After  this  battle  General  Custer  was  ordered  to  Batesville  and  Helena  with 
the  entire  force,  except  the  Thirty-seventh  Illinois,  one  battalion  of  the  First 
Missouri  Cavalry  and  one  section  of  the  Peoria  battery;  and  until  June  this 
force  was  kept  in  the  extreme  front  in  the  enemy's  country,  fifty-five  miles  in 
advance  of  any  assistance,  feeling  the  pulse  of  rebeldom  beating  daily  in  this  its 
farthest  extremity.  Marching  and  counter-marching  over  one  hundred  miles 
frontage  of  mountainous  region,  ambushed  and  bushwhacked  day  and  night,  it 
kept  the  flag  at  the  front,  and  always  flying.  In  the  summer  of  1862  the  Thirty- 
seventh  joined  the  larger  forces.  It  bore  its  share  in  the  marches  and  skir- 
mishes in  southwestern  Missouri,  and  finally,  on  the  7th  day  of  December,  as- 
sisted in  the  terrible  fight  and  brilliant  victory  at  Prairie  Grove,  where,  in  the 
capture  of  a  battery  and  the  assault  upon  the  enemy  in  their  chosen  position,  the 
Thirty-seventh,  reduced  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  lost  seventy-eght,  killed 
and  wounded;  but  they  took  the  battery.  It  returned  to  St.  Louis  from  there, 
and  was  sent  to  Cape  Girardeau,  whence  it  started  after  Gen.  Marmaduke, 
overtaking  him  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Francis  River  at  Chalk  Bluffs.  The 
fight  at  this  point  freed  southeast  Missouri  of  all  rebel  forces,  and  won  for  the 
Thirty-seventh  high  praise  in  the  reports  of  the  commanding  general.  They  then 
returned  to  St.  Louis,  and  joined  the  forces  under  Gen.  Grant,  and  participated 
in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 

From  this  time  on,  the  path  of  the  Thirty-seventh  was  away  from  its  Ver- 
milion County  comrades,  the  Twenty-fifth,  Thirty-fifth,  Seventy-ninth,  One 
Hundred  and  twenty-fifth  Infantry,  Fourth  Cavalry,  and  the  old  Twelfth  Regi- 
ment, some  of  whom  swung  across  the  continent,  via  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta, 
to  the  sea.  The  Thirty-seventh  marched  to  the  south ;  it  fought  and  beat  the 
rebels  at  Yazoo  City,  joined  in  the  campaign  after  Forrest  from  Memphis,  and 
after  chasing  him  out  of  Tennessee  via  Mississippi,  returned  and  took  part  in 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  203 

the  Red  River  campaign ;  in  the  meantime  bearing  a  light  share  in  the  fight  near 
Morganzia  Bend.  From  Duvall's  Bluff  the  regiment  was  sent,  via  New  Orleans, 
to  Barrancas  and  Pollard ;  thence  to  Mobile  and  participated  in  the  last  great 
siege  of  the  war,  and  in  its  last  great  battle ;  for  Lee  surrendered  at  10  o'clock 
A.  M.,  and  at  5 :45  P.  M.  of  the  same  day  the  federal  troops  assaulted  and  cap- 
tured the  Blakeley  batteries.  The  time  occupied  from  t;he  firing  of  the  first  gun 
until  they  were  in  possession  was  ten  minutes ;  the  loss  was  six  hundred  men  on 
the  Union  side;  captured,  three  thousand  prisoners,  forty-twio  cannons  and  the 
city  of  Mobile.  In  this  charge  the  Thirty-seventh  was  the  extreme  left  regi- 
ment, and  Company  K  was  the  extreme  left  of  the  entire  line,  which  advancing 
in  a  semicircle,  struck  the  rebel  works  almost  at  the  same  instant  along  the  whole 
front,  the  right  and  left  being  a  little  in  the  advance.  After  this  engagement  the 
Thirty-seventh  was  removed  to  the  Department  of  Texas,  where  it  remained 
until  August,  1866,  being  among  the  last  of  the  United  States  Volunteers  dis- 
charged from  service. 

The  Thirty-seventh  veteranized  in  1864.  It  was  in  the  service  five  years 
from  the  time  of  recruiting;  it  marched  and  moved  four  times  from  Lake  Mich- 
igan to  the  gulf;  it  moved  on  foot  nearly  six  thousand  miles,  and  journeyed  by 
water  and  land  conveyance  nearly  ten  thousand  miles  more ;  it  bore  its  part  in 
thirteen  battles  and  skirmishes,  and  two  sieges.  The  survivors  of  Company 
K  are  in  Oregon,  California,  Texas,  Missouri  and  Illinois.  They,  like  the  vast 
mass  of  their  fellow  volunteer  soldiers,  are,  most  of  them,  respected  and  useful 
citizens. 

SEVENTY-THIRD    REGIMENT    ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEERS. 

[Contributed  by  W.  H.  Newlin  and  W.  R.  Lawrence.] 

Under  the  call  of  the  President  for  three  hundred  thousand  volunteers,  July 
6,  1862,  Illinois  was  required  to  furnish  nine  regiments.  Upon  this  call  the 
Seventy-third  regiment  was  organized,  of  which  companies  C  and  E  were  from 
Vermilion  ,County.  Six  days  after  the  call,  Patterson  McNutt,  Mark  D.  Hawes 
and  Richard  N.  Davis  began  to  recruit  a  company  of  infantry  in  and  about 
Georgetown,  and,  soon  after,  Wilson  Burroughs,  Charles  Tilton  and  David 
Blosser  commenced  raising  a  company  near  Fairmount.  McNutt's  company, 
consisting  of  eighty-five  men,  were  assembled  on  the  23d  at  Georgetown,  where 
they  were  sworn  in  by  'Squire  John  Newlin.  After  this  ceremony,  McNutt, 
Hawes  and  Davis  were  elected  captain,  first  and  second  lieutenant,  respectively. 
The  next  day  the  men  went  to  the  Y,  the  present  site  of  Tilton,  where  they 
were  furnished  transportation  to  Camp  Butler,  arriving  there  the  next  morn- 
ing. With  the  exception  of  a  few  squads,  this  was  the  first  company  in  this  camp 
under  that  call.  Early  in  August  twenty-one  recruits  arrived  from  Georgetown, 
making  the  total  number  one  hundred  and  six.  About  this  time  Capt.  Burroughs, 
having  organized  his  company,  arrived  with  seventy  men,  which,  being  recruited 
from  Captain  McNutt's  company,  made  their  complement. 

The  first  military  duty  done  at  this  camp  was  guarding  about  three  thou- 
sand prisoners,  who  had  been  captured  at  Fort  Donelson. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  August  steps  were  taken  to  organize  the  regiment, 
and  this  was  accomplished  on  the  2ist,  the  regiment  numbering  eight  hundred 


204  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

and  six  men;  James  F.  Jaques  being  chosen  colonel,  Benjamin  F.  Northcott, 
lieutenant-colonel;  Wm.  A.  Presson,  major;  R.  R.  Randall,  adjutant,  and  James 
S.  Barger,  chaplain.  This  has  been  known  as  the  "preachers'  regiment,"  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  all  of  the  principal  officers  were  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
The  regiment  was  the  second  mustered  into  service  under  the  call.  Of  this 
regiment  McNutt's  company  was  designated  C,  and  was  the  color  company,  and 
Burrough's  company,  E.  On  the  27th  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  field,  and, 
without  arms,  they  were  transported  to  Louisville. 

The  first  camp  was  in  the  outskirts  of  Louisville,  near  the  L.  &  N.  R.  R. 
depot.  After  awhile  the  regiment  was  armed,  and  in  the  early  part  of  Septem- 
ber the  camp  was  moved  to  a  point  some  four  miles  from  the  city,  where  a  divi- 
sion was  formed  with  the  Seventy-third  and  One  Hundredth  Illinois  and  the 
Seventy-ninth  and  Eighty-eight  Indiana  as  one  brigade,  under  the  command  of 
Col.  Kirk.  While  in  this  camp,  great  commotion  was  caused  by  the  defeat  of  the 
Union  troops  at  Richmond,  Kentucky,  and  the  division  was  ordered  under  arms, 
and  made  a  rapid  advance  of  near  a  day's  march,  when,  meeting  the  retreating 
forces,  they  returned  to  camp. 

About  the  middle  of  September  the  Seventy-third  was  sent  to  Cincinnati,  to 
assist  in  defending  it  against  the  threatened  attack  of  Kirby  Smith.  The  regi- 
ment returned  to  Louisville  in  the  latter  part  of  September.  A  reorganization 
of  the  army  now  caused  the  Seventy-third  to  be  brigaded  with  the  Forty-fourth 
Illinois  and  the  Second  and  Fifteenth  Missouri,  making  a  part  of  the  division 
under  General  Phil  Sheridan.  On  the  ist  day  of  October  the  army  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand,  under  Gen.  Buell,  moved  from  Louisville  to  meet  Gen.  Bragg, 
who  with  Kirby  Smith  was  overrunning  the  country  in  that  vicinity.  The 
weather  was  very  hot  and  dry,  and  here  the  experience  of  all  new  regiments, 
of  disposing  of  superfluous  accoutrements  such  as  overcoats,  knapsacks,  etc., 
began,  and  the  line  of  march  was  strewed  with  a  variety  of  handy,  though  dis- 
pensable articles.  On  the  8th  Sheridan's  division  neared  Doctor's  Fork,  a  fine 
stream  of  water  near  Perryville.  The  Union  soldiers  were  anxious  to  reach 
this  point,  and  the  rebels  were  determined  to  check  their  advance,  and,  from  a 
skirmish,  this  grew  to  be  a  desperate  battle.  Through  some  blunder  the  Seventy- 
third  was  advanced  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  front  of  the  main  line,  up  to 
the  very  jaws  of  a  rebel  battery,  and  near  the  columns  of  the  main  rebel  infan- 
try. In  the  nick  of  time  it  was  ordered  to  fall  back,  and  the  rebel  battery  imme- 
diately opening  upon  them,  they  obeyed  with  alacrity,  and  gained  the  main  line 
without  serious  loss.  In  the  fight  that  ensued  the  Seventy-third  was  in  the  front 
line.  Company  C  had  in  this  fight  about  seventy  men  engaged,  of  whom  John 
J.  Halstead,  Zimri  Lewis,  Josiah  Cooper,  James  E.  Moore,  Samuel  Boen,  John 
S.  Long,  F.  M.  Stevens  and  D.  W.  Doops  were  wounded,  Cooper  and  Lewis 
subsequently  dying  of  their  wounds.  In  Company  E,  John  Murdock  lost  his  life, 
and  J.  M.  Dougherty  and  John  L.  Moore  were  dangerously  wounded. 

From  here  the  army  was  marched  to  Nashville,  which  place  was  reached 
on  the  7th  of  November,  and  the  army  went  into  camp.  By  this  time  Gen. 
Buell  had  been  succeeded  by  Gen.  Rosecrans.  The  campaign  through  Kentucky 
and  part  of  Tennessee,  though  but  of  five  wfeek's  duration,  was  an  eventful  one 
to  the  new  troops.  It  had  been  almost  a  continual  round  of  marching,  counter- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  205 

marching,  skirmishing  and  fighting  through  a  rough  country  that  had  already 
been  stripped  of  almost  everything  in  the  shape  of  forage.  This  sudden  baptism 
into  the  rugged  experiences  of  war  told  sadly  upon  many  whose  lives  had 
been  passed  in  the  quiet  scenes  of  the  village  or  farm.  During  the  six  weeks' 
encampment  at  Nashville  and  Mill  Creek,  eleven  men  of  Company  C  died  and 
thirteen  were  discharged  for  disability;  and  of  Company  E,  ten  died  and  ten 
were  discharged  for  disability.  Hawes  and  Davis,  of  Company  C,  resigned  on 
account  of  sickness,  and  T.  D.  Kyger  and  W.  R.  Lawrence  were  promoted  to 
the  vacancies.  Lieut.  Blosser,  of  Company  E,  resigned,  and  one  Presson  was 
promoted  from  another  company  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Less  than  three  months 
had  elapsed,  and  the  two  companies  had  lost  fifty-four  men. 

On  the  26th  of  December  the  camp  at  Mill  Creek  was  broken,  and  the  march 
for  Murfreesboro'  was  begun  in  further  pursuit  of  Bragg,  who  had  greatly  rein- 
forced his  army.  On  the  3Oth  the  vicinity  of  Murfreesboro  was  reached,  and 
almost  immediately  skirmishing  began.  This  was  a  most  hotly  contested  field, 
in  which,  however,  the  Federal  troops  proved  victorious.  The  Seventy-third 
lost  in  this  severely,  and  the  two  companies  from  Vermilion  were  sufferers, 
John  Dye  and  James  Yoho  being  killed,  Lieutenant  Lawrence  and  Daniel  Lay- 
cott  taken  prisoners,  and  George  Pierce  severely  wounded.  Rosecrans  was  proud 
of  this  victory  and  of  the  men  under  his  command,  and  made  a  special  order 
providing  for  a  roll  of  honor,  to  be  composed  of  one  name  from  every  com- 
pany, to  be  selected  by  the  members  of  the  company.  Company  C  selected  Ser- 
geant William  H.  Newlin. 

In  June  our  regiment  came  in  contact  with  the  rebels  at  a  point  near  Fair- 
field,  and  Alexander  Nicholson,  of  Company  C,  was  wounded.  In  August, 
Captain  McNutt  resigned,  and  Lieutenant  Kyger  was  promoted  captain,  Second 
Lieut.  Lawrence  to  first  lieutenant,  and  David  A.  Smith  succeeded  to  the  second 
lieutenancy.  Lieut.  Lawrence  had  returned  in  May  after  a  five  months'  absence 
in  Libby  Prison. 

On  the  loth  of  September,  the  army  again  advanced  toward  Chattanooga, 
to  dislodge  Bragg  from  that  position.  In  the  many  engagements  in  the  vicinity 
of  Chattanooga  the  Seventy-third  took  active  part,  but  in  the  one  at  Crawfish 
Springs,  on  the  2Oth  of  September,  the  brigade  to  which  the  Seventy-third  be- 
longed played  a  most  important  part,  and  displayed  a  degree  of  bravery  seldom 
equaled;  contending  with  and  holding  in  check  the  massed  columns  of  the  reb- 
els at  a  most  critical  moment.  Companies  E  and  C  suffered  severely.  Sergeant 
John  Lewis,  of  C,  and  color  bearer,  fell,  but  held  the  flag  aloft.  It  was  taken  by 
Corp.  Austin  Henderson,  of  Company  C,  but  he  carried  it  only  a  few  steps, 
when  he  was  wounded.  Each  of  the  color-guard,  who  took  the  flag,  was  either 
almost  instantly  killed  or  wounded.  In  this  engagement  at  least  a  fourth  of  the 
brigade  had  been  left  on  the  field,  either  dead,  wounded  or  prisoners.  Lieut. 
D.  A.  Smith,  Artemus  Terrell  and  Enoch  Smith,  of  Company  C,  were  killed. 
Lieutenant  Lawrence,  Sergts.  John  Lewis  and  Wm.  Sheets,  Corp.  Henderson, 
privates  John  Burk,  Samuel  Hewit,  John  Bostwick,  Henderson  Goodwine  and 
H.  C.  Henderson  were  wounded.  Sergt.  W.  H.  Newlin,  Enoch  Brown,  W.  F. 
Ellis  and  John  Thornton  were  taken  prisoners.  All  of  these  prisoners,  except 


206  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Newlin,  died  at  Andersonville  prison.  Newlin  was  taken  to  Danville,  Virginia, 
and  about  six  months  later  made  his  escape  to  the  Union  lines.  Of  those  of 
Company  C  who  went  into  this  battle,  more  than  one-third  were  killed,  wounded 
or  captured.  Company  E  lost  Wm.  C.  McCoy,  killed,  and  H.  Neville,  wounded. 
The  activity  of  battle  was  not  the  only  hardship  our  heroes  had  to  bear,  for  at 
this  time,  on  account  of  scarcity  of  rations,  and  the  long  continued  foraging  by 
both  armies  on  the  surrounding  country,  the  soldiers  were  not  only  often  hungry 
but  in  many  cases  half  starved.  On  the  24th  of  October  Lieut.  Lawrence  re- 
signed, leaving  Capt.  Kyger  the  only  commissioned  officer  in  the  company. 

In  November  the  fights  of  Lookout'  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge  took 
place,  and  as  usual  the  Seventy-third  was  in  front.  The  flag  of  the  Seventy- 
third  again  fell  from  the  hands  of  the  new  color-bearer  Harty,  to  be  snatched 
up  by  Kyger,  and  by  him  and  Harty,  who  had  risen,  was  one  of  the  first  planted 
on  the  heights  of  the  mountain.  In  this  engagement  Stephen  Newlin  and  Nat- 
haniel Henderson,  of  Company  C,  and  Wm.  Hickman,  of  E,  were  wounded. 
In  March  the  Seventy-third  marched  to  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  where  it  remained 
in  camp  until  called  into  the  Atlanta  campaign.  The  movement  of  Sherman's 
army  on  the  memorable  campaign  began  with  the  month  of  May,  1864,  and  that 
part  to  which  the  Seventy-third  belonged  broke  camp  at  Cleveland  on  the  3d  of 
that  month.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  from  this  date  until  September  4,  the  Seventy- 
third  was  under  fire  eight  days  out  of  ten,  Sundays  not  excepted.  It  was  a  con- 
tinuous fight  from  Caloosa  Springs  to  Lovejoy  Station.  During  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  and  until  the  end  of  the  war,  the  Seventy-third  was  in  the  First 
Brigade,  Second  Division  and  Fourth  Army  Corps.  In  the  battles  of  Buzzard 
Roost,  Dalton  and  Resaca,  the  regiment  wlas  engaged  and  suffered  some  loss. 
At  Burnt  Hickory,  Dallas  and  New  Hope  Church,  the  regiment  was  also  en- 
gaged. The  actions  at  Big  Shanty,  Pine  and  Lost  Mountains,  brought  the  regi- 
ment by  the  middle  of  June  in  full  view  of  Kenesaw  Mountain.  The  enemy's 
works  at  this  place  were  very  strong,  and  well-nigh  impregnable;  but  when  the 
order  came  to  advance  and  take  them,  the  lines  swept  forward  and  occupied 
them  with  comparative  ease,  but  just  as  the  federal  soldiers  were  fairly  in  pos- 
session, the  rebels  were  strongly  reinforced,  and  the  Union  forces,  embracing 
the  Seventy-third,  fell  back  to  their  original  position.  In  this  engagement,  though 
this  regiment  was  in  the  line  of  the  heaviest  firing,  but  being  on  the  lowest  part 
of  the  ground,  the  shots  from  the  enemy  passed  harmlessly  over  their  heads. 
On  the  1 7th  of  July  the  regiment  crossed  the  Chattahoochee  River,  and  on  the 
2Oth  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek.  In  this  battle  the  Seventy- 
third  occupied  a  very  dangerous  position,  and  did  most  splendid  execution,  hav- 
ing but  one  man  killed  and  a  dozen  slightly  wounded.  Shortly  after  this  the  army 
had  settled  down  in  front  of  Atlanta.  After  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  a  siege 
of  six  weeks,  the  army  marched  toward  Chattanooga,  arriving  there  about  the 
2Oth  of  September.  From  Chattanooga  the  line  of  march  lay  through  Hunts- 
ville  and  Linnville,  arriving  in  due  time  at  Pulaski,  where  the  skirmishers  began 
to  come  in  contact  with  those  of  Hood's  army.  In  the  vicinity  of  Columbia  the 
Seventy-third  took  an  active  part,  in  one  instance  sustaining  the  shock  of  cav- 
alry. This  was  about  the  24th  to  28th  of  November.  All  the  way  to  Columbia, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  207 

whither  the  Union  forces  were  retiring,  followed  closely  by  Hood  and  his  army, 
there  was  continual  fighting,  in  which  the  Seventy-third  was  almost  constantly 
engaged.  This  was  the  last  stand  of  any  consequence  made  by  the  rebels  in 
Tennessee.  It  was  an  obstinately  contested  field,  and  seemed  to  be  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  last  hope  of  the  rebels  to  maintain  their  cause  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  The  hardships  endured  by  Thomas'  army  in  the  last  few1  days  of  this 
struggle  were  extreme,  but  not  more  so  in  the  actual  conflict  than  in  the  forced 
marches,  hunger  and  loss  of  sleep ;  and  to  accord  equal  bravery  and  endurance 
to  the  Seventy-third,  is  only  to  repeat  what  has  already  been  written  by  some 
of  the  most  critical  historians  of  the  country.  A  few  days  later  the  regiment 
made,  in  the  assault  on  the  enemy  at  Harpeth  Hill,  in  the  vicinity  of  Nash- 
ville, their  last  charge,  which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  splendid  in  their 
experience.  As  if  indicating  that  the  Seventy-third  had  reaped  sufficient  glory, 
the  remnants  of  the  rebel  army  withdrew  from  Tennessee,  and  left  our  heroes 
in  possession  of  the  state  and  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  prisoners. 

The  Union  army  marched  now  to  Huntsville,  Alabama,  arriving  there  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1865;  the  Seventy-third  remaining  here  until  the  28th  of 
March,  at  which  time  it  left  by  railroad  for  East  Tennessee.  While  encamped 
near  Blue  Springs  the  war  closed,  and  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Nashville, 
where,  on  the  I2th  of  June,  it  was  mustered  out,  and  in  a  few  days  started  for 
Springfield,  going  on  the  same  train  with  the  Seventy-ninth  Illinois.  Two  trains 
conveyed  the  Seventy-third  as  it  was  going  to  the  theater  of  war ;  the  war  over, 
one  train,  no  larger  than  either  of  the  two  mentioned,  conveyed  both  the  regi- 
ments from  Nashville  to  Springfield,  indicating  that  the  hardships  of  army  life 
had  dealt  severely  with  their  ranks.  At  Springfield  the  boys  received  their  final 
pay  and  discharges,  and  dispersed  to  their  several  homes,  having  been  absent 
from  the  county  wlithin  a  few  days  of  three  years.  The  heroic  dead  of  this 
regiment,  whose  absence  was  most  notable  on  the  home  trip,  lie  buried,  some 
in  graves  dug  by  friendly  hands ;  but  were  tombstones  erected  for  those  whose 
bodies  were  hastily  pushed  into  the  unwelcome  soil  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
they  would  almost  be  equivalent  to  the  milestones  to  mark  the  road  of  the  army 
through  the  country,  which  they  fought  to  retain  in  the  Union.  Twenty-six 
men  of  the  Seventy-third  were  made  prisoners,  and  of  these  sixteen  died  of 
hunger  and  ill-treatment. 


THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

This  regiment,  nearly  five  companies  of  which  were  from  Vermilion  County, 
organized  at  Decatur  on  the  3d  of  July,  1861,  and  was  one  of  the  very  first 
to  go  forward  to  defend  the  country  from  the  rebel  hordes  who  were  not  only 
threatening  the  life  of  the  nation,  but  whose  grasp  seem  to  be  already  encir- 
cling it. 

Companies  D,  E,  F  and  I  were  almost  wholly  from  this  county,  and  also  a 
large  number  of  Company  A,  the  last  named  being  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Philip  D.  Hammond,  of  Danville.  Company  D  was  raised  in  Catlin,  and 
had  for  its  officers  William  Timmons,  captain ;  U.  J.  Fox,  first  lieutenant,  and 


208  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Josiah  Timmons,  second  lieutenant.  Company  E  was  officered  by  William  L. 
Oliver,  L.  J.  Eyman,  and  George  C.  Maxon,  captain,  first  and  second  lieuten- 
ants, respectively.  This  company  was  raised  in  the  townships  of  Georgetown 
and  Carroll.  Company  F  was  a  Danville  company,  and  had  for  captain,  A.  C. 
Keys;  first  lieutenant,  John  Q.  A.  Luddington,  and  second  lieutenant,  J.  M. 
Sinks.  Company  I  was  raised  in  the  vicinity  of  Catlin  and  Fairmount.  Of  this 
company,  A.  B.  B.  Lewis  was  elected  'captain ;  Joseph  Truax,  first,  and  Joseph 
F.  Clise,  second  lieutenant. 

In  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  W.  P.  Chandler,  of  Danville,  was  elected 
lieutenant-colonel ;  and,  by  the  disabling  of  Col.  Smith  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge, 
Colonel  Chandler  was  put  in  command,  and  was  afterward  promoted  to  the 
office. 

On  the  23d  of  July  the  regiment  was  accepted  as  Colonel  G.  A.  Smith's  Inde- 
pendent Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteers,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  left  Decatur 
for  the  theater  of  war.  The  regiment  arrived  at  Jefferson  barracks,  Missouri, 
the  next  day,  where  it  remained  one  week,  and  then  removed  to  Marine  Hos- 
pital, St.  Louis,  where  it  was  mustered  into  service.  On  the  5th  of  September 
it  was  transported  by  rail  to  Jefferson  City,  Missouri,  and  from  thence,  on  the 
1 5th  of  October,  to  Sedalia,  to  join  Gen.  Sigel's  advance  on  Springfield,  arriving 
at  that  point  on  the  26th  of  October.  From  November  13  to  19  the  regiment 
w&s  on  the  march  from  Springfield  to  Rolla.  From  January  24,  1862,  the  army 
to  which  the  Thirty-fifth  was  attached  was  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Price,  and  here  our 
regiment  began  to  experience  a  taste  of  real  war.  At  the  memorable  battle  of 
Pea  Ridge  the  regiment  took  active  part,  and  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  a  num- 
ber of  its  bravest  men,  among  the  wounded  being  Col.  Smith.  At  the  siege  of 
Corinth  the  regiment  took  an  important  part,  and  was  at  that  place  upon  its 
evacuation  on  the  3Oth  of  May.  At  Perryville  and  Stone  River  the  regiment  was 
also  engaged,  at  the  later  place  losing  heavily  in  killed  and  wounded.  This  was 
during  the  first  three  days  of  January,  1863.  The  regiment  was  the  first  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Tennessee  River,  crossing  that  stream  on  the  28th  of  August. 
At  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  September  20,  the  regiment  was  engaged,  and 
again  suffered  severely.  By  the  22d  of  September  the  regiment  was  at  Chat- 
tanooga. 

In  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  on  November  23-5,  the  regiment  was  placed 
in  a  most  dangerous  and  important  position,  being  in  the  front  line,  and  dis- 
played great  valor  and  coolness,  being  led  to  within  twenty  steps  of  the  rebel 
works  on  the  crest  of  the  hill.  In  the  assault  all  of  the  color-guard  were  shot 
down,  and  Col.  Chandler  carried  the  flag  into  the  enemy's  works,  followed  by 
his  men.  By  December  7  the  regiment  was  at  Knoxville.  from  which  point  it 
was  sent  on  various  important  and  dangerous  expeditions.  The  regiment  was 
assigned  to  duty  next  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  to  recount  all  of  the  inci- 
dents, skirmishes  and  fights  in  which  the  Thirty-fifth  took  part  would  be  only  to 
repeat  what  has  been  said  over  and  over  again  in  regard  to  other  regiments.  The 
reader  will  simply  turn  to  the  story  as  related  elsewhere,  and  appropriate  it  here. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  at  Rocky  Face,  Resaca,  Dallas,  Mud  Creek  and  Kennesaw 
the  regiment  was  fully  tested  in  coolness  and  bravery,  and  never  disappointed 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  209 

its  commanders.     On  the  3ist  of  August  the  regiment  started  to  Springfield, 
Illinois,  where  it  was  mustered  out  on  the  27th  of  September,  1864. 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND    TWENTY-FIFTH     REGIMENT. 

[Contributed  by  Col.  William  Mann.] 

The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteers  was  raised 
under  the  call  by  President  Lincoln,  and  was  organized  and  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  on  the  3d  of  September,  1862,  at  Danville,  Illinois. 
It  was  composed  of  seven  companies,  (A,  B,  C,  D,  G,  I,  K)  from  Vermilion, 
and  three  companies  (E,  F  and  H)  from  Champaign. 

The  regiment  was  organized  by  the  selection  of  the  following  officers ;  Oscar 
F.  Harmon,  Danville,  colonel;  James  W.  Langley,  Champaign,  lieutenant-col- 
onel; John  B.  Lee,  Catlin,  major;  Wm.  Mann,  Danville,  adjutant;  Levi  W. 
Sanders,  chaplain,  and  John  McElroy,  surgeon.  The  principal  officers  of  Com- 
pany A  as  organized  were :  Qark  Ralston,  captain ;  Jackson  Charles,  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  Harrison  Low,  second  lieutenant.  Of  Company  B,  Robert  Steward 
was  captain ;  William  R.  Wilson,  first,  and  S.  D.  Conover,  second  lieutenant. 
Of  Company  C,  William  W.  Fellows  was  captain ;  Alexander  Pollock,  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  James  D.  New,  second.  Company  D  had  for  captain,  George  W. 
Galloway;  James  B.  Stevens,  first,  and  John  L.  Jones,  second  lieutenant.  John 
H.  Gass  was  captain  of  Company  G,  Ephraim  S.  Howells,  first  and  Josiah  Lee, 
second  lieutenant.  Company  I  was  officered  by  Levin  Vinson,  John  E.  Vinson 
and  Stephen  Brothers  as  captain,  first  and  second  lieutenants,  respectively.  The 
officers  of  Company  K  were:  George  W.  Cook,  captain;  Oliver  P.  Hunt,  first 
lientenant,  and  Joseph  F.  Crosby,  second. 

Immediately  on  its  being  received  into  the  service,  it  was  sent  to  Gncinnati, 
where  it  was  placed  in  the  fortifications  around  Covington,  Kentucky,  but  was 
in  a  few  days  sent  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  which  at  that  time  wbs  threatened 
by  Bragg,  and  upon  his  retreat  was  connected  with  the  pursuing  forces,  and  re- 
ceived its  "baptism  of  fire"  at  the  battle  of  Perryville,  Kentucky,  assisting  in 
driving  the  rebel  army  out  of  the  state.  After  the  battle  above  named  it  took  up 
the  line  of  march  for  Nashville,  Tennessee,  which  will  long  be  remembered  by 
its  members  as  being  the  most  severe  campaign  of  their  service,  owing  to  their 
inexperience  in  such  duties,  and  many  of  the  regiment  contracted  diseases  that 
resulted  in  death  or  complete  disability.  During  the  winter  following  the  regi- 
ment did  duty  in  the  fortifications,  and  on  patrol  and  picket  service  in  and  around 
the  city.  Owing  to  the  ignorance  of  camp  life  and  the  scarcity  of  supplies,  this 
period  was  more  disastrous  to  the  organization  than  any  of  its  subsequent  battles. 
Severe  picket  duty,  tiresome  drills,  and  the  dull  routine  of  camp  life,  made  upi 
the  sum  of  the  regiment's  duties  until  they  were  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Rose- 
crans,  who  was  about  to  take  up  the  gauntlet  throw*!  by  Bragg  at  Chattanooga. 

Proceeding  by  a  circuitous  route  through  western  Tennessee  and  northern 
Alabama,  driving  the  enemy  at  Rome  and  other  minor  points,  the  brigade  to 
which  the  regiment  belonged,  then  connected  with  Gen.  Gordon  Granger's  Re- 
serve Corps,  the  command  found  itself  in  position  in  front  of  the  enemy  on  the 
eve  of  what  proved  to  be  a  disastrous  battle  to  the  federal  forces,  the  day  of 


210  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Chickamauga.  In  that  battle  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  took  a  promi- 
nent part,  by  defending  and  holding  positions  of  importance.  On  the  retirement 
of  Rosecrans  to  Chattanooga  after  his  comparative  defeat,  the  brigade,  then 
commanded  by  Col.  Dan  McCook,  was  placed  to  defend  Rossville  Gap,  an  im- 
portant pass,  while  Gen.  Thomas  collected  the  remnants  of  the  army,  to  resist 
the  farther  advance  of  the  victorious  foe.  In  the  defense  of  this  important  posi- 
tion the  regiment  wlas  under  a  severe  fire,  and  met  with  loss ;  but  held  its  ground 
through  the  day,  and  checked  the  enemy  in  its  front.  After  nightfall  it  was 
ordered  to  retire,  and  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the  field,  marching  to  Chat- 
tanooga, where  it  took  part  within  the  fortifications,  and  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  enemy.  Here  it  remained  until  it  was  determined  that  Bragg  did  not 
intend  to  push  his  successes  farther,  when  the  regiment  was  sent  to  a  point  up 
the  Tennessee  River  known  as  "Caldwell's  Ford,"  at  the  mouth  of  Chickamauga 
Creek.  Here  it  experienced  an  incident  which  was  one  of  the  most  startling 
and  trying  of  its  career.  The  camp  was  pitched  about  one  half  mile  back  from 
the  river,  on  the  hillside,  an  exposed  position,  but  rendered  necessary  by  the 
nature  of  the  ground.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  a  rebel  picket  post, 
and  a  hill  of  some  dimensions.  The  opportunity  to  attack  was  deemed  so  fa- 
vorable by  the  rebels,  that,  on  the  night  of  the  i6th  of  November,  1863,  they 
placed  a  heavy  battery  of  eight  guns  in  position,  and  at  the  break  of  day  opened 
fire  on  the  camp.  The  bursting  of  shells  and  the  crack  of  solid  shot  through  the 
tents  was  the  first  sound  heard  by  the  command  in  the  morning.  It  was  truly  a 
grand  reveille,  and  certainly  the  men  never  responded  more  quickly  than  they 
did  on  that  memorable  morning  to  roll-call.  Amid  the  thunder  of  the  rebel  guns, 
and  the  quick  and  gallant  response  of  our  battery  (two  guns  placed  to  assist  the 
regiment),  the  command  was  formed  in  line  of  battle,  expecting  the  river  to  be 
crossed  and  the  camp  attacked.  The  execution  of  our  guns,  however,  soon  in- 
formed the  enemy  that  they  had  undertaken  a  difficult  task,  and  as  was  after- 
ward learned,  finding  that  they  were  experiencing  loss,  retired.  The  only  loss 
sustained  by  the  regiment  was  the  death  of  the  chaplain,  Levi  W.  Sanders,  who 
was  struck  by  a  round  shot  in  the  head  and  instantly  killed. 

At  CaldweH's  Ford  the  regiment  remained  until  the  advance  was  made  which 
culminated  in  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  and  the  defeat  of  the  enemy.  In 
this  battle  it  did  not  take  an  active  part  until  the  enemy  was  in  full  retreat,  assist- 
ing in  driving  him  beyond  reach.  Learning  of  the  threatened  attack  of  Knoxville 
by  a  portion  of  the  forces  from  the  eastern  army,  it  was  sent  to  the  relief  of  that 
post.  Accomplishing  that  object,  it  returned  and  went  into  camp  on  Chick- 
amauga Creek,  at  a  place  known  as  Lee  and  Gordon  Mills,  Georgia.  Here  it 
awaited  the  reorganization  of  the  army,  and  was  placed  in  the  Third  Brigade, 
Third  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps,  Gen.  Jeff  C.  Davis  commanding. 
And  now  commenced  the  most  vigorous  part  of  the  regiment's  career.  On  the 
advance  of  the  grand  army  on  what  is  known  as  the  "Atlanta  campaign,"  it  was 
under  fire  many  times,  and  participated  in  several  battles  in  approaching  that  city. 
In  the  battle  of  Kennesaw1  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Tennessee,  and  other 
engagements,  the  regiment  suffered  severely,  and  at  the  end  of  that  campaign 
nearly  or  quite  one  half  of  the  command  that  entered  upon  it  were  numbered 
among  the  dead  or  wounded.  At  Kennesaw  Mountain,  on  the  fatal  27th  of  June, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  211 

1864,  it  lost  one  half  of  the  command.  Just  previous  to  the  order  to  charge  being 
given,  the  regiment  mustered  two  hundred  and  forty  guns.  After  the  charge, 
and  when  the  list  was  made  of  the  casualties,  it  was  found  that  over  one  half 
had  been  killed  or  wounded.  Here  fell  Col.  Harmon,  Capt.  Fellows,  Capt.  Lee, 
Lieut.  McLean,  and  many  a  brave  private,  whose  names  are  embalmed  in  the 
hearts  of  friends,  and  referred  to  with  sadness  after  a  lapse  of  fifteen  years. 
Col.  Harmon  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  raising  the  regiment.  He  had 
left  honors  and  a  lucrative  profession  at  home,  to  respond  to  his  country's  call 
and  gave  his  life  in  its  defense.  His  name  will  be  remembered  so  long  as  a 
member  of  the  command  lives,  and  venerated  by  them. 

This  campaign  ended  in  the  battle  of  Jonesboro,  in  which  the  regiment  suf- 
fered severe  loss,  as  they  did  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  and  the  subsequent  capture  of 
Atlanta. 

At  Atlanta  a  reorganization  of  the  army  occurred,  and  the  concoction  of  the 
great  campaign  known  in  history  as  the  "March  to  the  Sea,"  under  Sherman. 
With  that  army  the  regiment  took  up  the  line  of  march  toward  the  coast,  and 
without  any  startling  incidents  aside  from  skirmishes,  etc.,  reached  Savannah 
about  the  2Oth  of  December,  1864,  and  participated  in  the  honor  attending  the 
capture  of  that  important  post.  It  lost  many  men  in  this  campaign,  through 
capture,  sickness,  etc.  Crossing  the  Savannah  at  Sister's  Ferry,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  campaign  which  culminated  in  the  surrender  of  the  Confed- 
erate forces  and  the  suppression  of  the  great  rebellion,  after  the  evacuation  of 
Richmond,  it  advanced  with  the  left  wing  of  the  army  and  participated  in  its  last 
battle  at  Bentonville,  a  small  town  in  North  Carolina,  losing  quite  heavily.  On 
the  surrender  of  Johnston  it  marched  to  Washington,  where  it  remained  several 
weeks,  and  was  then  sent  to  Chicago,  where  it  was  mustered  out,  paid  and  dis- 
charged from  the  service  of  the  United  States  after  nearly  three  years  of  active 
service,  with  hardly  one-half  of  those  who  had  started  with  it  from  Danville 
remaining.  Many  had  died  or  had  been  killed  in  action,  others  had  been  dis- 
charged from  disability  arising  from  wounds  or  disease  contracted  by  exposure 
and  the  severity  of  campaign  life,  and  a  few,  a  very  few,  had  been  lost  by  deser- 
tion. And  thus  ended  the  services  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  regi- 
ment Illinois  Volunteers  in  the  "Great  Rebellion." 

The  statement  has  often  been  made  that  the  people  of  the  South  were  all  who 
suffered  during  the  years  of  the  Civil  War ;  that  the  people  of  the  North  hardly 
knew  there  was  any  conflict  going  on.  There  never  was  a  greater  mistake  of  the 
conditions  of  the  times.  While  there  were  no  battles  and  no  burning  homes, 
there  was  not  a  village  of  the  northern  states  where  the  life  was  not  decidedly 
changed  by  reason  of  the  conflict  going  on  in  the  south.  Almost  every  home  had 
some  one  in  the  service  and  the  first  question  when  neighbors  met  was  a  query 
about  the  news  from  the  army.  Business  was  in  changed  conditions  and  social 
life  was  influenced  by  the  friends  being  in  the  hardships  of  war. 

The  women  and  children  were  not  idle.  Danville  wtas  not  an  exception  to 
other  towns.  One  company  after  another  had  been  recruited  from  the  men  of 
Vermilion  county,  and  news  of  a  battle  brought  anxiety  and  a  desire  to  help 
on  the  part  of  all.  The  necessity  for  help  was  urgent.  All  the  appliances  for 
care  of  wounded  which  can  now  be  bought  without  trouble,  were  unknown  at 


212  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

that  time.  The  women  of  Danville  would  gather  in  the  basement  of  the  old 
North  Street  church  and  spend  days  in  making  bandages,  scraping  lint,  and  sew- 
ing on  garments  needed  in  the  hospitals. 

All  the  old  tablecloths  and  linen  sheets  and  anything  made  of  that  material 
were  donated  and  the  children  busied  themselves  scraping  the  lint  from  this 
cloth.  When  the  linen  was  used  up,  cotton  was  brought  into  use.  Many  were 
the  yards  of  cloth  cut  up  into  strips  and  wrapped  into  bandages.  New  cloth 
was  bought  and  dipped  in  scalding  water  to  shrink,  and  then  wound  carefully 
to  make  the  desired  rolls  of  bandages.  Then  there  were  the  garments  needed  to 
put  on  ti\p  men  as  they  lay  in  the  hospitals  tossing  with  fever  or  groaning  in 
pain.  Life  was  serious  in  those  days  and  men,  women  and  children  vied  with 
each  other  in  plans  to  help  those  who  were  "at  the  front." 

There  were  but  few  new  comers  to  the  county  in  the  years  from  1860  to 
1864.  It  was  not  a  time  men  were  looking  for  new  homes.  The  large  part  of 
those  at  the  sections  which  had  hitherto  turned  their  faces  to  Vermilion  County 
were,  -during  these  times,  engaged  in  the  war  on  one  side  or  the  other.  Virginia 
and  the  Carolinas,  together  with  Tennessee,  all  had  their  attention  taken  with 
the  great  struggle,  and  Ohio,  whence  the  large  immigration  had  before  this  time 
come,  was  sending  her  men  to  the  front.  There  were  a  few  families,  however, 
came  into  this  section,  during  these  years  and  some  of  these  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  the  life  of  the  county.  Among  these  can  be  named  Dr.  Winslow, 
Mr.  D.  Dale,  Detective  Hall,  Mr.  Freeman,  Alexander  Bowman,  Judge  Evans 
and  others. 

Dr.  J.  C.  Winslow,  a  native  of  Vermont,  located  in  Danville  in  1860.  He  was 
a  man  of  rare  knowledge  and  perhaps  was  attracted  to  this  section  by  the  geolo- 
gical wealth  along  the  Vermilion  river.  When  he  first  left  home  he  was  a  maker 
of  musical  instruments  but  he  was  a  man  of  science  before  he  was  of  trade  and 
he  left  that  mechanical  work  to  others.  He  taught  music  and  later  was  attracted 
to  railroading.  This  led  him  to  be  a  Master  Mechanic.  He  came  to  Vermilion 
County  to  accept  the  position  of  assistant  Master  Mechanic  on  the  Wabash 
(Great  Western)  Railroad.  But  he  tired  of  that  employment  and  took  up  the 
study  of  dentistry,  and  in  1886  he  came  to  Danville  to  practice  that  profession. 
He  found  congenial  companionship  in  the  way  of  Mr.  Will  Gurley,  who  although 
but  yet  a  boy  was  authority  on  all  geological  matters.  Dr.  Winslow  established 
the  Vermilion  County  Historical  Society. 

It  is  a  great  pity  that  this  society  was  let  to  disband  so  completely  as  to  leave 
no  trace.  Dr.  Winslow  was  the  first  Mayor  of  Danville,  being  elected  in  May, 
1868.  Dr.  Winslow  was  identified  with  everything  of  public  improvement  and 
was  a  great  force  toward  making  Danville  and  Vermilion  County.  Dr.  Wins- 
low  died,  and  was  buried  in  Springhill  cemetery. 

John  J.  Dale,  the  father  of  John  W.  Dale,  who  has  been  identified  with  so 
many  affairs  of  Vermilion  County,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1860  and  located 
about  six  miles  south  of  Rossville.  Mr.  John  W.  Dale  enlisted  in  the  army  from 
his  home  going  as  a  private  in  Company  B,  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Volunteers. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  elbow  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  lost  his  arm 
in  consequence.  Mr.  Dale  has  held  many  offices  of  responsibility  in  the  county 
and  city  of  Danville.  Mr.  Dale  married  Miss  Hicks  of  Perrysville,  Indiana. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  213 

The  life  of  the  detective  T.  D.  Hall  has  always  seemed  to  be  of  unusual  in- 
terest. He  has  a  good  record  of  success  in  ferreting  out  crime  and  its  doers.  Mr. 
Hall  is  an  Englishman,  but  when  he  came  to  Danville  in  1861  he  came  directly 
from  Indiana.  He  found  his  ability  as  a  detective  first,  when  he  filled  the  office 
of  deputy  sheriff  under  Joseph  M.  Payton  in  1865.  Mr.  Hall  has  spent  much 
of  his  time  in  the  employ  of  the  railroads.  An  account  of  his  experiences  would 
make  a  fascinating  book  to  read. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Freeman  was  one  of  the  newcomers  to  Vermilion  County  in 
1871.  He  came  from  Edgar  county  at  that  time,  but  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  had  come  west  but  a  short  time  before  that  time.  Mr.  Freeman 
was  in  the  employ  of  the  Wabash  Railroad,  both  at  Fairmount  and  State  Line 
for  eleven  years.  He  came  to  Danville,  and  in  1874  was  elected  city  clerk. 
He  held  that  office  for  many  years  and  was  released  only  when  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  give  it  up.  Mr.  Freeman  was  a  very  popular  man  and  had  a 
host  of  devoted  friends.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Newkirk,  and  his  second  wife  was  Miss  Mary  W.  Dustin  of  Enfield,  N.  H. 
Mr.  Freeman  was  too  ill  to  attend  to  business  for  a  long  time  before  his  death. 
He  was  the  father  of  seven  children.  The  first  wife  was  the  mother  of  two 
children,  only  one  of  whom  lived. 

Other  newcomers  in  the  sixties  were :  S.  B.  Holloway,  in  1862 ;  J.  A.  Lewis 
and  L.  B.  Wolf,  in  the  same  year,  and  D.  D.  Evans  and  Alexander  Bowman 
in  1864.  M.  A.  Harrold  came  in  1861,  and  S.  R.  Tilton  and  G.  W.  Tilton  and 
W.  J.  Henderson  came  in  1862.  Of  these,  Mr.  S.  B.  Holloway  was  connected 
with  the  omnibus  line  for  many  years.  He  came  from  Ohio,  where  he  was 
born  and  where  he  married  his  wife.  Mr.  Holloway  had  run  steam  sawmills 
in  various  towns  before  he  came  to  Danville,  and  came  here  directly  from  In- 
dianapolis. Mr.  Holloway  lived  in  Danville  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Mr.  Lewis  came  from  England  and  was  a  contractor  and  builder.  His 
home  has  always  been  in  South  Danville.  L.  B.  Wolf  came  to  Danville  and 
for  some  time  kept  a  bakery,  but  in  the  course  of  time  became  one  of  the  Dan- 
ville Lounge  Factory  Company,  where  he  is  at  present. 

D.  D.  Evans,  school  teacher,  editor  and  attorney,  was  always  a  credit  to 
Danville.  After  practicing  law  for  some  time  he  was  elected  county  judge,  and 
after  that  known  as  Judge  Evans.  Mr.  Evans  married  Mrs.  Elwilda  (Crom- 
well) Fithian  and  their  home  was  a  pleasure  to  enter. 

Alexander  Bowman  came  to  Danville  from  Champaign.  So  intense  was 
the  public  feeling  when  he  came  that  when  he  was  looking  around  on  the  pub- 
lic square,  he  was  very  near  to  being  arrested  as  a  political  spy.  Mr.  Bowman 
laid  out  more  towns  in  Vermilion  county  than  any  other  man. 

M.  A.  Harrold  settled  in  Ridge  Farm  in   1861. 

The  Tilton  brothers  came  to  Catlin  in  1862  from  Indiana.  Samuel  came 
first,  but  enlisted  in  the  service  and  was  severely  wounded  in  the  battle  of 
Kenesaw  Mountain.  A  ball  entered  his  right  breast  and  it  was  some  time  be- 
fore it  came  out  of  his  back.  He  was  incapaciated  for  service,  but  he  returned 
to  his  regiment  and  remained  until  the  close  of  their  term  of  service.  Then 
he  went  to  his  parents'  home  in  Indiana  and  later  came  back  to  Catlin.  Mr. 
Tilton  married  Miss  Vance,  the  daughter  of  Maj.  Vance. 


214  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

George  Tilton  came  to  Catlin  about  the  time  his  brother  did,  but  he  re- 
mained there  all  the  time.  He  taught  school,  was  bookkeeper  and  salesman, 
and  then  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  C.  Sandusky  under  the  name  of  San- 
dusky  &  Tilton.  They  sold  general  merchandise.  The  Tilton  Bros,  have  been 
associated  together  in  the  mercantile  line  during  all  the  years  they  have  lived 
in  Vermilion  County. 

The  great  amusement  at  Conkeytown  in  the  later  fifties  and  early  sixties 
was  the  debating  club,  which  held  its  meetings  at  the  Cass  school  house. 
There  were  some  eloquent  and  convincing  debates,  in  which  William  Milton 
and  John  Lee,  Samuel  Rawlins,  Hiram  and  Alex.  Catlett,  William  Davis  and 
Z.  C.  Payton  took  part. 

An  interesting  document  was  not  long  ago  discovered  by  Mr.  Hole,  the 
postmaster  at  Ridge  Farm.  It  evidently  belonged  to  his  father  and  bears  date 
of  August  23,  1862.  It  is  the  charter  of  the  Union  League  of  America;  num- 
ber of  local  chapter,  1054.  The  eight  charter  members  who  signed  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Jonah  Hole,  E.  Goodwin,  A.  B.  Whitney,  James  Price,  Elisha  Hamil- 
ton, T.  D.  Weems,  D.  J.  Hunt  and  Thomas  Henderson.  This  organization  was 
a  counter  one  to  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  and  the  fact  that  such  a 
council  existed  is  proof  of  an  organization  of  the  latter  in  the  county.  It  is 
well  known  that  over  the  state  line  in  Indiana  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle 
were  strong.  This  Union  League  of  America  had  passwords,  signs,  and  the 
grip,  and  the  members  were  oath  bound.  This  charter  is  printed  on  parchment 
and  is  signed  by  Mark  as  G.  Pres.,  and  George  H.  Harlin  as  G.  Sec. 

There  were  two  riots  in  Danville  which  tell  the  state  of  public  feeling  bet- 
ter than  multiplied  words  could  do.  While  the  state  of  sentiment  was  intense 
all  over  the  country,  yet  on  the  borders,  as  it  might  have  been  called,  the  con- 
ditions were  a  little  different.  Danville  was  near  to  the  people  who  felt  most 
keenly  the  ravages  of  war  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  in  touch  with  those  who 
felt  as  intensely  the  necessity  of  the  struggle  to  preserve  the  Union.  Other 
localities  let  men  wear  a  butternut  pin  unmolested  and  had  men  mustered  out  of 
service  and  go  about  their  business  without  arousing  the  desire  to  kill. 

The  first  riot  was  on  August  24,  1863,  and  was  a  disgraceful  as  well  as 
lamentable  affair.  John  Payne  was  the  father  of  several  boys  and  was  him- 
self a  man  who  sympathized  with  the  South.  On  the  other  hand  his  son-in-law 
was  a  stanch  upholder  of  the  Union.  One  of  his  sons  wore  the  emblem  of 
the  Northern  sympathizer  in  the  shape  of  a  pin  on  his  coat  that  was  made 
from  a  butternut.  Such  an  ornament  was  not  unusual  to  see  on  men's  coats 
at  this  time.  Lyman  Guinup,  a  business  man  of  Danville  and  Colonel 
Hawkins,  a  soldier  from  Tennessee,  were  together.  Mr.  Guinup  was  himself 
a  soldier.  Seeing  this  pin  when  particularly  impatient  with  the  ornament, 
these  men  snatched  it  from  the  coat  of  John  Payne.  A  fight  followed,  and  in 
the  struggle  Payne  was  shot.  Later  a  preliminary  investigation  was  held  in  a 
magistrate's  office  on  West  Main  street,  about  where  the  King  block  is  now 
located.  A  crowd  assembled,  and  William  M.  Payne,  who  was  the  sheriff,  has- 
tened to  the  scene.  As  he  passed  the  store  of  William  M.  Lamm,  which  stood 
where  the  Danville  National  Bank  now  stands,  or  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  public  square,  he  called  Mr.  Lamm,  who  was  at  the  store  door,  to  go 


CAPT.    T.   J.   McKIBBEN 


GEORGE  MeKIBBEN 


MAJOR  THOMAS  MeKIBBEN 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  21& 

with  him  and  assist  in  quelling  the  disturbance.  They  hastened  on  together. 
This  was  about  one  o'clock  p.  m.  As  they  came  within  bullet  range,  a  shot 
was  fired  and  Mr.  Lamm  fell  mortally  wounded.  No  demonstration  was  then 
made,  although  the  Southern  sympathizers  gathered  on  the  corner  of  Hazel 
and  South  streets.  The  reports  were  circulated  that  the  friends  of  John  Payne 
of  the  same  views  were  intending  to  burn  the  town  that  night.  The  next 
morning  the  courthouse  grounds  were  full  of  horses  which  had  been  ridden 
into  town  during  the  night  by  the  farmers  who  had  strong  Union  sentiments. 
George  Barker  was  arrested,  tried  and  convicted  for  shooting  Mr.  Lamm,  and 
was  sent  to  the  penetentiary.  William  Lamm  was  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  North  Street  Methodist 
Church.  His  death  was  a  severe  loss  to  the  community.  His  sons,  John  M., 
Stamper  Q.  and  Edward  C.  Lamm  are  living  in  Danville  now  and  are  among 
our  prominent  citizens. 

The  other  riot  in  Danville  occurred  on  the  evening  of  October  i,  1864. 
This  was  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  a  big  republican  rally.  The  election, 
which  was  to  give  President  Lincoln  a  second  term,  was  not  far  away,  and 
politics  ran  high  in  Vermilion  county,  as  elsewhere  in  the  country.  It  was 
but  the  day  before  this  that  the  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
mustered  out  of  service  in  Springfield.  The  soldiers  had  come  home  and  not 
yet  put  aside  their  suits  of  blue,  and  of  course  were  very  conspicuous  in  the 
streets.  Among  these  returned  soldiers  were  three  of  the  sons  of  Thomas  Mc- 
Kibben,  Capt.  Jeff  McKibben,  George  McKibben  and  Henry  McKibben.  George 
McKibben  was  not  an  aggressive  young  man,  but  rode  into  town  that  morn- 
ing with  his  friend  Francis  Gundy  in  good  health  and"  spirits.  They  put  up 
their  horses  in  the  Pennsylvania  House,  says  Mr.  Gundy  who  lives  in  Bismark, 
in  Newell  township,  and  went  about  town.  The  day  passed  without  any  dis- 
order, although  many  threats  were  reported  to  have  been  made.  About  half  past 
five  o'clock,  Mr.  Gundy  went  to  the  place  where  the  horses  were  in  waiting 
and  took  them  both  out,  riding  his  own  and  leading  that  of  George 
McKibben  to  the  public  square.  Finding  his  friend,  Mr.  Gundy  told  him  it 
was  time  to  go  home.  But  George  McKibben  excused  himself  with  the  re- 
mark of  having  anxiety  for  his  brother  Jeff,  and  said  he  thought  he  would  not 
go  home  that  night,  but  look  out  for  his  brother.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  in 
the  least  uneasy  for  his  own  safety.  So  it  was,  Mr.  Gundy  took  George  Mc- 
Kibben's  horse  back  to  the  stable  and  went  on  home  by  himself.  This  is  the 
story  as  told  by  Mr.  Gundy,  the  friend  of  George  McKibben. 

The  story  is  taken  up  at  this  point  by  Mr.  Hiram  Ross,  who  was  an  eye 
witness  of  the  shooting.  Mr.  McKibben  and  Mr.  Ross,  together  with  George 
McKibben  and  Henry  McKibben,  were  all  standing  about  six  o'clock  p.  m., 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  public  square  across  the  street  from  where  the 
Interurban  station  is  now  located  and  they  were  called  across  the  street  by  Dr. 
Paris  and  Dr.  Lemon,  who  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  The  men 
called  to  them  to  come  over  and  shake  hands  and  make  up  friends.  The  boys 
went  over  without  thought  of  fear,  and  the  men  backed  into  the  store,  the  boys 
following.  No  sooner  did  they  get  in  than  the  door  was  closed  behind  them  and 
the  two  men  stepped  behind  the  counter  and  the  shots  began  to  fly  in  the  direction 


216  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  the  McKibben  boys.  The  air  was  full  of  smoke  and  all  was  confusion  for  a 
minute,  when  Henry  McKibben  called  out  that  he  was  hurt.  The  men  who  did 
the  shooting  made  their  escape  through  the  back  window  and  Mr.  Ross  looked 
about  for  George  McKibben  to  find  him  shot  dead  with  a  bullet  in  his  temple  and 
Henry  McKibben  sure  he  was  mortally  wounded.  Mr.  Ross  hurried  Henry 
McKibben  to  Dr.  Fithian's  office,  and  does  not  know  anything  about  what  hap- 
pened afterward,  excepting  as  hearsay.  An  examination  of  Henry  McKibben 
showed  the  bullet  had  not  penetrated  his  body,  but  was  lodged  in  his  clothing  and 
fell  to  the  floor  when  his  body  was  badly  bruised  on  the  left  side  where  the  ball 
had  struck  him  in  the  region  of  the  heart. 

Mr.  Hiram  Ross  who  lives  in  Danville,  tells  this  story,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
as  it  is  here  given :  Mr.  J.  W.  Giddings  was  at  that  time  a  young  man,  the  son  of 
William  Giddings  whose  home  was  on  South  Hazel  street  almost  opposite  the 
home  of  Dr.  Lemon.  He  takes  up  the  account  at  this  place,  telling  of  the  dis- 
tressing scene  he  witnessed.  He  tells  how  he  was  at  the  gate  of  his  home  and  saw 
men  running  down  the  alley,  among  whom  was  Capt.  Jeff  McKibben,  with  others 
of  the  returned  soldiers.  He  was  at  the  gate  of  Dr.  Lemon's  home  when  the  crowd 
reached  there  and  he  saw  Capt.  McKibben  with  some  other  man  go  into  the 
house  and  appear  presently  with  Dr.  Paris  between  them.  Dr.  Paris  had  their 
promise  to  protect  him  until  he  could  have  the  benefit  of  the  law.  That  this 
promise  was  made  in  all  good  faith  there  could  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
those  on  the  outside  of  the  house.  That  Jeff  McKibben  thought  he  could  give 
this  protection  is  equally  as  certain  to  anyone  who  heard  him  speak  that  niglit. 
But  Capt.  McKibben  was  not  dealing  with  his  company  of  disciplined  soldiers : 
it  was  a  mob  he  faced  and  a  mob  growing  more  and  more  furious  every  minute. 
A  mob  that  could  not  reason,  nor  yield  obedience  to  orders  if  these  were  in 
the  direction  of  law,  and  a  consideration  of  another's  rights. 

Before  the  act  could  be  prevented,  the  helpless  prisoner  was  struck,  and 
the  mob  had  closed  around  him  and  hastily  fired  shot  after  shot  into  his  body, 
thus  taking  another  life  to  pay  for  the  one  already  lost,  and  all  done  in  blind, 
unreasoning  passion.  How  far  this  mob  would  have  gone  will  never  be  known 
had  not  Mr.  Thomas  McKibben,  the  father  of  the  dead  boy,  held  them  in 
check  as  no  other  man  could  have  done.  The  mob  would  listen  to  him,  and  it 
is  well  they  would.  He  stepped  on  a  box  on  the  street  so  that  all  could  see 
him  as  he  reminded  them  that  his  loss  of  a  son  was  greater  than  could  be  that 
of  any  of  them ;  and  he  pleaded  with  them  and  demanded  that  the  men  form- 
ing the  mob  would  disperse  and  do  no  more  harm. 

Captain  Jeff  McKibben,  who  is  yet  living,  tells  the  story  of  the  scene  at  the 
home  of  Dr.  Lemon  in  his  own  words  as  follows : 

"It  was  the  evening  of  Oct.  1st,  1864.  There  had  been  a  big  republican  rally 
in  Danville  on  that  day.  In  the  evening  I  had  just  ordered  my  horse  from  the 
barn  of  the  old  -  —Hotel  to  start  home  when  some  person  (can't  call  to 
memory  who)  called,  "Captain,  your  brother  is  shot."  I  says,  "I  haven't  heard 
any  shooting."  This  man  pointed  down  the  street  on  the  public  square.  I 
immediately  ran  down  to  where  the  crowd  was  gathering.  As  I  came  up  to  the 
crowd,  my  brother  Henry  and  Hiram  Ross  came  forward  and  met  me.  Hiram 
Ross  said.  ''George  is  killed."  They  were  on  their  way  to  Dr.  Fithian's  office. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  217 

I  saw  that  Henry  was  shot.  I  asked  him  who  shot  him.  He  said,  "Dr.  Ferris 
and  don't  let  him  get  away."  I  says,  "Where  did  he  go?"  Some  person  called 
out  that  he  went  down  to  Dr.  Lemon's  house.  I  said  that  I  would  get  him.  I 
immediately  started  for  Dr.  Lemon's  house.  A  large  crowd  followed.  When 
I  arrived  at  Dr.  Lemon's  home,  I  went  to  the  south  entrance.  Dr.  Lemon  opened 
the  door  with  a  revolver  in  his  hand.  He  told  me  to  halt.  I  did  so.  I  says, 
"Dr.  Lemon  is  Dr.  Ferris  in  your  house?"  He  said  that  he  was  but  I  could  not 
enter  his  house.  At  that  I  stepped  forward  and  told  him  that  I  would  give  him 
just  ten  minutes  to  deliver  me  Dr.  Ferris  or  down  would  come  him  and  his 
house.  He  said  that  he  would  deliver  to  me,  Dr.  Ferris  in  ten  minutes.  I  told 
the  people  that  were  there  not  to  molest  Dr.  Lemon  nor  his  property,  that  he  had 
agreed  to  deliver  me  Ferris.  While  standing  there  some  one  supposed  to  be  Dr. 
Ferris  opened  the  upstairs  window  and  fired  a  shot  down  at  me.  The  bullet 
went  into  the  ground  close  to  my  left  foot.  In  a  few  moments  Dr.  Lemon  came 
down  stairs  to  the  front  door  and  called  for  Capt.  McKibben.  I  immediately 
answered  him.  He  said  that  Dr.  Ferris  wanted  to  see  me  up  stairs  alone.  I 
ran  up  stairs  and  Ferris  met  me  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  jammed  his  gun  against 
my  chest.  I  knocked  it  aside  and  grabbed  his  arm  with  my  left  hand  and  my 
gun  was  against  his  head  in  a  second.  I  told  him  to  surrender.  He  dropped  his 
pistol  on  the  floor  and  commenced  to  beg  for  his  life  as  I  started  down  the  stairs 
with  him.  I  told  him  he  had  forfeited  his  life  but  that  he  should  have  a  hearing 
in  his  case.  When  I  got  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  out  on  the  porch  some  person 
struck  him  with  a  piece  of  wood  and  he  fell  forward  on  the  walk.  As  he  fell  a 
number  of  shots  were  fired  into  the  body.  I  called  out  to  them  to  cease  firing — 
not  to  shoot  a  dead  man.  The  firing  stopped  and  someone  called  out  to  haul  the 

d rebel  up  the  street  and  some  parties  grabbed  him  by  the  legs  and  up  the 

street  they  went. 

I  immediately  crossed  the  street  and  met  my  father  standing  there  alone.  I 
said,  "Father,  I  thought  you  had  gone  home."  He  said,  "I  had  started  and 
heard  of  this  trouble  so  came  back."  At  that  moment  some  person  came  up, 
(can't  call  to  mind  who)  and  said,  "Capt.  your  brother  is  dead."  I  said,  "I 
think  not,  that  was  only  a  flesh  wound."  At  that  father  says,  "Poor  George  is 
dead."  That  was  the  first  knowledge  of  my  brother's  death.  I  am  glad  that  I 
did  not  know  he  was  dead  at  the  time.  If  I  had  known  it,  I  would  probably 
have  killed  Dr.  Ferris.  I  did  not  kill  him  nor  I  did  not  shoot  at  him.  Now  I 
have  given  the  account  of  the  killing  of  Dr.  Ferris  as  I  remember  it.  I  think 
it  is  correct." 

Dr.  Ferris  had  been  taken  through  the  streets  and  left  on  the  side  of  the  walk 
by  the  courthouse,  and  no  one  went  to  him,  although  he  was  yet  living,  until 
near  midnight,  when  he  was  taken  into  the  courthouse  dead.  Dr.  Paris  was  a 
Virginian,  and  he  felt  very  bitterly  the  results  of  the  war.  It  is  now  claimed 
that  he  had  served  in  the  Union  army,  but  this  claim  has  not  yet  been  proven, 
and  though  he  might  have  once  been  pledged  to  the  cause  of  the  union,  that  can 
make  the  circumstances  of  his  death  in  the  way  it  was  only  the  more  sad. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
AFTER  THE  WAR 

CONDITIONS    FOLLOWING    THE    CIVIL    WAR NEW    COMERS    IN    THE    DECADE    IMME- 
DIATELY  AFTER    THE    CLOSE    OF    THE   WAR BUILDING    OF    TOWNS    AND    CITIES — 

PROGRESS  IN  THE  NORTHERN  PART  OF  THE  COUNTY DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATURAL 

RESOURCES. 

The  division  of  the  history  of  Vermilion  County  by  the  date  of  the  Civil  war 
is  not  an  unreasonable  one  as  can  be  seen  by  a  careful  reader  of  any  record 
of  events  before  that  time  and  since. 

Changes  in  conditions  were  the  inevitable  following  of  the  end  of  that 
struggle,  not  only  in  the  South,  but  all  over  the  country,  and  Vermilion  County 
was  no  exception  to  this  universal  state  of  matters.  Apparently  the  army  was 
disbanded  and  its  members  went  back  home  to  take  up  the  life  laid  down  three 
or  more  years  ago.  But  in  reality  that  was  impossible.  The  intervening  years 
had  been  filled  with  experiences  which  changed  plans  and  ideals,  and  even 
modes  of  life.  The  people  of  this  country  were  not  the  same  people  nor  could 
they  regain  their  former  condition. 

In  Vermilion  County,  up  to  this  time,  the  increase  in  population  had  mainly 
come  from  the  increased  families.  While  some  new  comers  had  found  their 
way  to  this  section,  the  affairs  of  the  towns  and  of  the  county  were  man- 
aged by  the  descendants  of  the  early  settlers.  The  natural  increase  of  values 
had  made  certain  distinctions  in  the  communities,  and  certain  men  had  found 
themselves  in  power  because  of  the  wisdom  of  the  choice  of  their  fathers  or 
grandfathers  in  the  selection  of  land  when  first  coming  to  the  west.  There 
was  more  of  a  community  of  interest  than  is  possible  under  any  other  cir- 
cumstances. Men  knew  each  other  better  when  their  fathers  had  known  each 
other;  it  was  easier  to  calculate  what  a  man  would  do  when  his  father's  life 
was  as  an  open  book  to  read.  But  there  is  more  danger  of  a  concentration 
of  power  in  a  community  when  generation  after  generation  lived  in  the  same 
place.  Deeper  friendships  are  developed,  but  on  the  other  hand,  more  bitter 
enmity  is  always  engendered,  and  a  community  misses  the  chance  of  growth 
while  having  the  privilege  of  intimate  association.  Those  who  had  gone  to  the 
service  had  met  new  experiences  and  met  new  people.  They  had  found  that 
the  world  was  not  bounded  by  the  limits  of  their  own  community.  The  entire 
country  had  grown  less  narrow  and  found  that  the  world  had  something  in  it 
other  than  own  interests.  Vermilion  County  boys  were  not  the  exception. 

218 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  219 

Home  had  perhaps  grown  more  dear  because  of  contrast,  but  never  again  would 
it  hold  the  place  it  had  before.  The  nation  had  grown  from  its  period  of  de- 
pendence and  provincialism.  Where  men  had  gone,  they  came  back  with  a 
wider  outlook.  Old  plans  of  work  for  one  or  another  were  put  aside,  it  may 
be,  on  account  of  some  one  who  went  away  but  did  not  come  back. 

Immediately  following  the  close  of  the  war,  many  new  comers  made  their 
homes  in  Danville.  Unlike  the  early  settlers  these  were  largely  from  the  east- 
ern states.  The  south  came  to  the  county  in  its  infancy,  and  when  the  next 
time  of  change  came  it  brought  the  east  to  Vermilion  County. 

The  newcomers  differed  in  another  way  from  the  early  settlers  in  that  they 
sought  the  towns  rather  than  the  country,  and  the  villages  and  county  seat  in- 
creased in  size  more  rapidly  than  did  the  country  districts,  at  this  time. 

Mr.  J.  G.  Holden  came  from  Ohio,  being  a  native  of  New  Hampshire  and 
having  spent  his  youth  in  that  state  and  New  York.  His  fathers  family  came  to 
Illinois  in  1851,  when  he  was  sixteen  years  old.  They  settled  in  northern  Illi- 
nois and  he  remained  in  New  York  state  clerking  in  a  grocery  store.  Later 
he  went  to  Ohio  and  went  into  business  of  his  own  as  a  merchant.  There 
he  remained  until  1865,  when  he  came  to  Danville  and  made  it  his  permanent 
home.  Mr.  Holden  later  went  into  the  lumber  business  with  his  yard  on 
Hazel  street,  just  north  of  Main.  He  built  up  a  fine  business,  which  he  kept 
as  long  as  he  lived,  and  since  his  death  has  been  carried  on  by  his  eldest  son, 
Nathan. 

Mr.  Holden  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  city.  He  was  at  one  time 
a  member  of  the  city  council,  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Danville, 
and  held  all  prominent  offices  in  the  Agricultural  Society.  He  was  sent  to  the 
state  legislature  and  while  on  the  county  board  of  supervisors  was  chairman 
of  the  committees  which  had  the  building  of  the  new  court  house  to  see  about. 
Mr.  Holden  died  at  his  home,  corner  of  Walnut  and  Williams  streets. 

Edward  S.  Gregory  was  another  eastern  man  who  came  to  Danville  in  1865. 
He  went  into  the  drug  store  of  J.  Partlow,  where  he  remained  for  five  years. 
He  was  elected  marshal  of  Danville  in  1868  and  held  that  office  for  six  years. 
He  was  then  elected  sheriff  of  Vermilion  County  and  remained  in  that  office 
for  six  years. 

Mr.  Gregory  married  Miss  Anna  Maxon.  Dr.  George  Wheeler  Jones  and 
his  brother  James  located  in  Danville  about  this  time.  Like  many  other  young 
men  they  had  gone  into  the  army  before  they  had  selected  their  locations 
for  homes.  Dr.  Jones  had  begun  his  practice  of  medicine  in  Terre  Haute  from 
which  place  he  enlisted,  but  the  younger  brother  went  into  the  service  when  he 
was  but  eighteen  years  old.  Coming  back,  the  most  promising  location  ap- 
peared to  be  Danville,  Illinois. 

Dr.  Jones  opened  a  practice  in  the  city  and  surrounding  territory,  and  at 
the  same  time  they  formed  a  partnership  under  the  firm  name  of  Jones  Broth- 
ers, and  carried  on  the  business  of  a  drug  store.  Their  store  building  was  on 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Hazel  streets.  The  building  yet  stands  in  good  con- 
dition, having  housed  a  drug  store  for  forty-five  years.  In  the  store  diagonally 
across  the  street  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Hazel  streets.  Yates  & 
Murphy  had  a  dry-goods  store. 


220  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  Danville  Lumber  &  Manufacturing  Co.  was  the  outcome  of  the  part- 
nership made  by  Mr.  Holden  and  Mr.  E.  A.  Leonard,  when  they  came  from 
Defiance,  Ohio,  in  1865,  and  went  into  the  lumber  business.  It  is  true  that 
it  was  many  years  after  they  made  and  gave  up  their  partnership  that  this 
establishment  was  organized,  but  the  beginning  was  made  when  Mr.  Holden 
and  Mr.  Leonard  came  from  the  same  town  in  Ohio  in  the  same  year  and 
together  went  into  the  lumber  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Leonard  & 
Holden.  In  one  year  he  bought  Mr.  Holden's  interest  and  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone  until  1871,  when  the  firm  became  Leonard  &  Yeomans.  In  1873 
the  Danville  Lumber  &  Manufacturing  Co.  was  established  and  continued  until 
the  death  of  Mr.  Leonard.  They  did  a  good  business  for  the  times  and  it  was 
one  of  profit.  Mr.  Leonard  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1828, 
and  died  in  Danville,  III. 

During  these  first  years  after  the  war,  the  list  of  attorneys  was  increased 
by  William  A.  Young,  J.  B.  Mann,  E.  Winter  and  F.  W.  Penwell.  Mr.  Young 
came  from  Indiana.  Mr.  Mann  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Winter  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  but  came  to  Indiana  while  very  young,  coming  to  Danville 
in  1870;  and  Mr  Penwell  was  a  native  of  Indiana.  All  of  these  men  have 
become  successful  lawyers  and  made  themselves  known  outside  their 
own  county.  Mr.  Young  did  not  begin  the  practice  of  his  profession 
until  he  had  spent  much  time  in  other  employment.  He  taught  school 
rather  extensively  in  southern  Illinois.  He  enlisted  for  the  term  of  three 
months,  but  soon  had  enough  of  army  life.  He  was  engaged  as  recruiting 
officer  in  Indianapolis,  and  at  last  began  his  practice.  At  first  it  was  under 
the  firm  name  of  Penwell  &  Young,  where  they  both  made  their  reputation, 
and  were  considered  the  rising  lawyers  of  Vermilion  County. 

Mr.  Joseph  B.  Mann  is  one  of  the  best  known- lawyers  of  the  state.  He 
is  well  read,  clear  in  his  statement  of  a  case,  and  is  generally  on  the  winning 
side.  He  was  born  and  spent  his  youth  in  the  east,  coming  west  to  the  Mich- 
igan University  to  study  law  in  1865,  and  graduating  from  that  school  in  1866. 
He  then  came  to  Danville  and  went  into  the  office  of  O.  L.  Davis.  He  was 
admitted  to  practice  law  in  the  courts  of  Illinois  in  the  following  year.  He 
was  taken  into  the  firm  with  Judge  E.  S.  Terry.  When  that  partnership  was 
ended  he  went  into  the  firm  with  Judge  O.  L.  Davis.  Since  then  he  formed 
the  firm  of  Mann,  Calhoun  &  Frazier,  which  was  one  of  the  strongest  in 
eastern  Illinois.  Mr.  Mann  married  Miss  Lucy  Davis,  daughter  of  Judge 
O.  L.  Davis.  Mr.  Mann  changed  his  residence,  his  new  location  being  Chi- 
cago, but  he  afterward  returned  to  Danville.  Mr.  Mann  has  perhaps  a  wider 
acquaintance  throughout  the  state  and  surrounding  territory  than  any  other  resi- 
dent of  Vermilion  County. 

Mr.  E.  Winter  is  but  one  generation  removed  from  England,  his  father 
being  an  Englishman.  He  was  born  in  Indiana.  In  1864  he  enlisted  in  Bat- 
tery F,  First  Indiana  Heavy  artillery,  although  but  seventeen  years  old,  and 
was  in  several  heavy  engagements.  After  he  came  to  Danville  he  helped  or- 
ganize Battery  A,  and  soon  was  made  captain  of  it,  since  which  time  he  has 
familiarly  been  called  Captain  Winter. 


THE  PLAZA,  SHOWING  COAL  MINED  IN 
VERMILION  COUNTY 


OLD  COURT  HOUSE  AND  JAIL 


GROCERY  STORE  ON  MAIN   STREET 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  221 

Mr.  Penwell  moved  to  Illinois  with  his  parents  in  1853,  but  did  not  come 
to  Danville  until  1873.  He  enlisted  from  Shelbyville,  the  home  of  his  parents. 
He  was  in  the  service  for  three  years,  after  which  he  went  to  the  Michigan 
University  and  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  When  he  came  to 
Danville  he  went  into  partnership  with  Judge  Henry  under  the  firm  name  of 
Henry  &  Penwell.  Three  years  later  the  firm  was  changed  to  Penwell  & 
Young  and  remained  that.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Abdill  brothers 
came  from  Perrysville  and  opened  a  hardware  store.  The  firm  of  Abdill 
Bros,  was  dissolved  in  time  and  Mr.  E.  C.  Abdill  carried  on  the  business. 
When  he  died  his  sons,  Charles  and  Harry,  carried  it  on  for  some  time  under 
the  name  of  E.  C.  Abdills'  Sons.  In  about  1898  the  store  passed  into  the 
hands  of  another  firm  and  the  name  of  Abdill,  which  was  connected  with  the 
hardware  trade  for  so  many  years  was  lost  to  Danville.  Mr.  George  Abdill 
is  and  has  been  a  broker  in  Danville  since  going  out  of  the  hardware  busi- 
ness. 

D.  M.  Gurley  came  to  Danville  from  Michigan,  being  a  native  of  Vermont, 
in  1867.  He  was  in  the  hide  and  leather  business  until  he  retired.  He  was 
fifty-nine  years  old  when  he  came  and  did  not  have  many  active  years  before 
him  when  he  made  the  change  of  residence. 

Judge  Stansbury  came  to  Danville  with  a  grown  family  in  1867.  They 
were  a  great  addition  to  the  social  life  of  Danville.  Mrs.  Stansbury  was  an 
unusual  woman  and  the  two  daughters  were  unmarried  and  very  accomplished 
women.  The  son  was  a  citizen  of  Danville  for  many  years.  Miss  Elizabeth 
Stansbury  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  W.  T.  Cunningham  and  the  young  daughter 
was  married  to  Dr.  O.  LeSeure,  and  went  to  Detroit  to  live.  In  1867  Mr. 
A.  L.  Webster  and  Mr.  George  Yeomans  opened  a  hardware  store  in  Dan- 
ville. They  continued  in  this  partnership  until  1871,  when  Mr.  Yeomans  sold 
his  interest  to  Mr.  Charles  Yeomans,  his  brother.  The  firm  name  of  Web- 
ster &  Yeomans  continued  until  four  years  later,  when  it  was  dissolved,  Mr. 
Webster  taking  the  heavy  hardware  and  Mr.  Yeomans  the  light  hardware. 
Mr.  Webster  kept  this  sort  of  stock  for  four  or  five  years,  when  he  sold  out 
to  Mr.  J.  W.  Giddings  and  retired  from  the  trade  altogether.  He  afterward 
went  into  the  grocery  business,  eventually  being  in  the  jobbing  trade.  Changes 
of  firm  and  company  names  have  placed  him  at  this  time  in  the  large  wholesale 
business  of  Webster  Grocery  Company.  This  business,  which  is  extensive, 
is  housed  in  a  fine  building  which  the  company  owns  at  the  corner  of  East 
North  street  and  Washington  avenue.  Mr.  Yeomans  formed  the  company 
of  Yeomans,  Shedd  &  LeSeure,  which  remained  the  same  until  the  death  of 
Mr.  Frank  LeSeure,  one  of  the  firm,  in  1884,  since  which  time  the  firm  has 
been  Yeomans  &  Shedd.  The  death  of  Mr.  Shedd  last  spring  makes  another 
change. 

L.  T.  Dickason  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1867  from  Ohio.  He  had 
been  in  the  army  and  had  a  very  severe  wound,  after  which  he  was  discharged. 
This  was  when  he  had  almost  completed  his  term  of  enlistment.  Mr.  Dickason 
went  first  to  Fairmount  and  was  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  grain.  He 
later  came  to  Danville,  where  he  was  interested  in  the  coal  and  timber  trade 
very  extensively.  He  was  very  popular  and  was  elected  mayor  for  three 


222  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

terms.  Mr.  Dickason's  extensive  business  interests  made  his  residence  in  Dan- 
ville no  longer  possible,  and  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  has  since  made 
his  home.  His  health  has  been  very  much  impaired  during  these  last  years. 
He  was  associated  while  here  with  Mr.  C.  L.  English,  in  the  coal  and  lumber 
trade,  and  this  business  association  continued  after  he  changed  his  residence. 

The  coal  business  of  Vermilion  County  attracted  Mr.  W.  C.  McReynolds 
to  Danville  in  1867.  He  did  not  remain  in  this  business  for  long,  however, 
but  went  into  the  mill.  He  was  booker  in  the  Danville  mill,  which  was  one 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  county.  It  was  built  by  Daniel  Kyger.  In  1875  he 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  Pearson,  the  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Pearson.  Mr. 
H.  K.  Gregory  was  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  that  time.  He 
made  good  contracts  to  get  out  railroad  ties,  being  associated  with  his  brother 
Charles  for  a  time  and  later  with  Mr.  James  Knight.  Mr.  Gregory  went  to 
the  Pacific  slope  and  has  been  for  some  time  in  the  railroad  interests.  His 
residence  is  now  in  San  Francisco. 

A'  leading  dry-goods  firm  in  Danville  for  years  was  that  of  C.  W.  and 
J.  R.  Holloway.  This  firm  did  business  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and 
Walnut  streets.  The  firm  was  organized  in  1869.  Mr.  C.  B.  Holloway  came 
to  Danville  from  Ohio  and  Mr.  Jesse  Holloway  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
coming  to  Danville  from  Georgetown,  Illinois,  having  gone  when  young.  He 
was  a  dry-goods  merchant  in  Georgetown  for  twenty  years  and  then  moved 
to  Danville,  where  he  went  into  the  Vermilion  County  Bank  for  a  time,  but 
resumed  the  dry-goods  business  when  this  firm  was  established. 

E.  C.  Winslow,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  Danville  after  the  war 
and  opened  a  fine  drug  store  on  Main  street,  between  Vermilion  and  Hazel,  on 
the  south  side.  Mr.  Winslow  was  an  experienced  druggist,  having  had  a  drug- 
store in  Boston  for  twelve  years  before  he  came  to  Vermilion  County.  Mr. 
Winslow  afterward  went  to  California  to  live.  He  was  a  relative  of  Dr.  Wins- 
low,  the  dentist  and  geologist.  Dr.  Gillette,  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  prac- 
tice his  profession  in  Danville  and  vicinity  about  this  time.  He  was  a  skillful 
physician  who  spent  his  life  in  this  community,  well  loved  by  a  host  of  patrons 
and  friends.  When  he  came  back  to  the  St.  Elizabeth  Hospital,  an  incurable 
invalid,  the  people  found  their  greatest  pleasure  in  doing  what  they  could 
to  make  his  last  days  comfortable.  Dr.  Gillette  died  in  the  early  spring  of 
1810. 

William  P.  Cannon  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  business  affairs  of  Dan- 
ville during  his  life  in  that  city.  He  came  from  Tuscola,  where  he  had  been 
first  in  the  practice  of  law  and  later  interested  in  the  private  bank  of  Wyeth, 
Cannon  &  Co.  Yet  later  Mr.  Cannon  organized  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Tuscola.  In  1873  he  moved  to  Danville  and  organized  the  Vermilion  County 
Bank,  of  which  he  was  made  president.  This  later  became  the  Second  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  Mr.  Cannon  was  president  of  this  bank  when  he  died,  in  1893. 
His  death  was  the  result  of  an  accident.  In  drawing  the  curtains  of  the  win- 
dow of  the  bank,  he  slipped  on  the  tile  floor,  and  falling,  sustained  internal 
injuries  which  were  of  so  serious  a  nature  he  could  not  recover  from  them. 

In  1867  the  old  charter  of  Danville  was  burned  in  a  fire  which  destroyed 
the  records  of  the  city,  and  a  new  one  was  granted.  The  city  was  operated 


HOME  OF   HON.  JOSEPH  G.  CANNON.   DANVILLE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  223 

under  this  charter  until  1874,  when  it  was  incorporated  under  the  general 
act  of  1872.  A  hook  and  ladder  company  was  formed  in  1867,  when  the  first 
protection  from  fire  was  made.  This  organization  gave  its  service  without 
compensation  of  any  kind.  D.  A.  Childs  was  made  the  foreman  of  this  com- 
pany, M.  Redford  the  assistant  foreman,  Charles  Eoff  secretary,  and  C.  Y. 
Yates  treasurer.  That  same  year,  under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Winslow 
as  mayor,  a  second-hand  engine  was  bought  and  299  feet  of  leather  hose  at 
a  cost  of  $1,200,  and  for  a  time  the  fire  department  of  Danville  gave  good 
service.  This  plan  of  a  volunteer  fire  department,  which  has  been  the  pride 
in  the  east,  was  not  the  continued  success  in  Danville.  So  it  was  that  in  1872, 
while  T.  H.  Myers  was  mayor,  the  council  determined  upon  buying  a  steam 
fire  engine.  The  committee  to  attend  to  the  matter  consisted  of  N.  S.  Monroe, 
W.  H.  Taylor  and  W.  A.  Brown.  An  engine  and  an  additional  hose  cart  with 
500  feet  of  the  best  rubber  hose  was  bought  and  the  company  was  reorganized. 
This  time  there  was  a  fixed  number  of  sixteen  members,  and  a  salary  was  paid 
to  each.  In  1875  another  of  the  Silsby  engines  was  bought.  W.  H.  Taylor 
was  made  chief  of  the  department  when  this  office  was  created  in  1879.  A 
list  of  officers  and  salaries  received  in  1880  is  interesting  in  comparison  with 
those  of  the  present:  Chief,  W.  H.  Taylor,  $55  per  month;  first  engineer, 
George  Lupt,  $50  per  month;  second  engineer,  Putnam  Russell,  $50  per  month. 
Members :  W.  D.  Dearing,  $50  per  month ;  Isaac  Hurlacker,  $20  per  quarter ; 
E.  Peables,  $20  per  quarter;  A.  Brant,  $15  per  quarter;  C.  Lindsey,  $15  per 
quarter;  William  Dallas,  $13  per  quarter;  J.  Peables,  $13  per  quarter;  E. 
Brant,  $13  per  quarter;  M.  Yearkes,  $13  per  quarter;  Charles  Adams,  $13  per 
month;  Frank  Wells,  $13  per  month;  James  Harrison,  $13  per  month;  Jackson 
Brideman,  $13  per  month;  George  Cox,  $13  per  month. 

It  was  in  1872  that  a  station  was  made  on  the  Chicago  &  Danville  Rail- 
road a  mile  south  of  the  present  site  of  Alvin.  This  was  named  for  the  pro- 
gressive citizen  of  that  part  of  the  country  and  called  Gilbert.  L.  T.  Dixon 
laid  out  the  town  of  Gilbert  on  section  8  (21-11)  and  Bruce  Peters  and  D. 
McKibben  started  a  store.  Peters  was  made  postmaster.  Soon  after  this  the 
store  was  sold  to  J.  D.  Williams  and  he  was  appointed  postmaster.  John 
Davison  afterwards  bought  it  and  put  in  a  stock  of  dry-goods.  Dr.  G.  W. 
Akers  started  the  drug  business  in  1875  and  remained  there  for  a  year,  when 
the  narrow  gauge  road  made  a  crossing  a  mile  to  the  north  and  the  postoffice, 
station,  stores  and  all  moved  to  this  point.  Gilbert  became  an  abandoned  town, 
but  the  new  town  built  in  its  place  must  be  named.  So  great  was  the  appre- 
ciation of  his  neighbors  for  Mr.  Gilbert  that  his  name  was  kept  for  the  other 
town,  and  it  was  called  Alvin.  Now  Mr.  Gilbert  always  persisted  in  the 
spelling  of  his  given  name  with  an  "a"  and  the  devotion  of  those  who  named 
the  new  town  went  to  the  extent  of  spelling  it  in  the  same  way.  The  post- 
office  department  knew  how  to  spell  and  refused  to  accept  this  spelling,  but 
spelled  the  town  Alvin.  So  it  is  that  this  town  in  Vermilion  County  has  the 
spelling  of  Alvan  as  a  railroad  station  and  of  Alvin  as  a  postoffice.  Any  one 
can  give  it  either  spelling  as  he  may  choose  and  be  correct.  Alvan  Gilbert 
had  lived  in  this  neighborhood  for  ten  years  and  had  large  landed  interests 
there,  and  if  he  demoralized  the  orthography  of  the  community,  it  is  too  late 


224  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

a  day  to  make  any  change.  Mr.  Gilbert  was  the  man  who  made  a  settlement 
at  the  site  of  Rossville  possible  in  1862.  That  was  the  date  of  his  coming  to 
this  place,  which  was  then  called  Henpeck  the  reason  for  which  is  unknown. 
This  included  the  settlement  made  first  by  Mr.  Bicknell  in  the  earlier  history 
of  the  county.  There  was  a  point  of  timber  running  into  the  prairie  at  this 
place  where  Mr.  Bicknell  had  settled. 

It  was  in  1871  that  Hoopeston  was  laid  out.  The  fight  over  the  possession 
of  the  site  of  this  by  the  two  companies  who  were  building  the  two  railroads 
was  a  bitter  one  and  ended  in  the  platting  of  three  towns:  Hoopeston  laid 
out  in  July  where  Main  street  is  now ;  Leeds  laid  out  where  later  the  Hibbard 
House  was  built,  and  North  Hoopeston  comprised  all  the  land  north  and  east 
of  the  railroad.  The  first  town  was  platted  in  the  spring  of  1871,  the  next 
was  platted  in  November  of  that  year,  and  the  third  was  platted  in  the  same 
year.  A  great  factor  in  the  growth  of  Hoopeston  was  the  organization  of  the 
Hoopeston  Agricultural  Society.  This  was  formed  in  1873  and  the  stock  was 
fixed  at  $5,000,  and  afterward  raised  to  $10,000. 

The  Hoopeston  Library  and  Lecture  Association  was  organized  December 
30,  1872,  and  Hon.  Lyford  Marston  elected  president.  After  the  car  shops 
of  the  Eastern  Illinois  Railroad  were  built  near  the  junction,  the  demand  for 
an  incorporated  village  of  the  territory  lying  to  the  northeast  of  that  locality. 
A  petition  was  filed  in  the  county  court  June  25,  1874,  asking  the  court  to 
direct  the  holding  of  an  election  to  vote  for  or  against  village  incorporation, 
setting  forth  that  there  were  over  four  hundred  people  living  within  said  limits. 
The  petition  contained  the  names  of  sixty  voters  who  lived  within  said  limits. 
The  petition  was  granted  and  an  election  was  called  for  July  6,  1874.  At  this 
election  there  were  thirty-one  votes  cast,  thirty  for  and  one  against  the  in- 
corporation. An  election  was  held  on  July  31  for  six  trustees  to  perfect  the 
organization.  At  this  election  there  were  thirty-four  votes  cast.  In  1875  there 
were  sixty-one  votes  cast.  When  the  village -was  incorporated  the  people  living 
there  were  largely  Germans,  but  that  did  not  last  long,  since  the  working  men  who 
have  come  into  the  shops  are  by  no  means  all  Germans,  and  other  nationalities 
find  their  way  to  this  village.  .While  the  employment  of  its  citizens  were  men  who 
had  little  farms  and  truck  patches,  there  were  conditions  which  attracted  the 
German  settler  who  remained  the  German  all  his  life. 

South  Danville  lies  on  the  south  side  of  Vermilion  river,  and  has  been  the 
home  of  the  miner  more  than  of  any  other  man.  This  village  was  incorporated 
in  1874.  In  February  of  that  year  Mr.  John  Lewis  and  thirty-five  others  pe- 
titioned the  county  court  to  order  an  election  to  vote  for  or  against  incorpo- 
rating under  the  general  act  with  the  following  boundaries :  commencing  at 
the  Wabash  railroad  bridge,  thence  southwest  with  said  railroad  to  a  point 
where  the  state  road  from  Georgetown  to  Danville  crosses  the  railroad ;  thence 
west  to  the  Paris  &  Danville  railroad  (now  the  New  York  Central  lines;) 
thence  north  to  the  Vermilion  river;  thence  along  said  river  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  The  petition  set  forth  that  there  were  five  hundred  people  living 
within  said  limits.  The  election  was  held  March  14,  at  which  time  and  place 
seventy-seven  votes  were  cast,  fifty-one  being  for  and  twenty-five  against  cor- 


GROUP  OF  DANVILLE   CITIZENS 


Reading  from  left  to  rij;lit:  Standing— -Prosper  LeSeure.  Robert  D.  McDonald,  Samuel  Craig, 
Victor  LeSeure.     Sitting— A.  G.  Webster.  Benjamin  Crane.  O.  L.  Davis,  Eben  Palmer  and 


Otlmeil  Gilbert. 


. 

HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  225 

poration.  An  election  was  held  to  elect  trustees  in  which  seventy-three  votes 
were  cast. 

At  an  election  held  in  1863  a  proposition  was  voted  upon  which 
was  called  upon  a  system  of  bridges.  As  the  vote  stood  515  for  and  2  against, 
there  is  reason  to  conclude  that  there  was  some  public  spirit  at  that  time. 
It  was  in  1864  that  a  new  cemetery  in  Danville  was  shown  to  be  a  pressing 
need  of  the  times,  and  Spring  Hill  was  incorporated.  Up  to  this  time  the  old 
Williams  burying  grounds  were  used,  but  it  was  beyond  use,  and  a  new  one 
was  an  urgent  need.  Mr.  J.  C.  Short  was,  as  he  showed  himself  to  be,  very 
much  interested  in  anything  to  promote  the  welfare  of  Danville,  and  in  con- 
nection with  Mr.  English,  Mr.  LeSeure,  Dr.  Woodbury  and  Mr.  A.  S.  Wil- 
liams, an  association  was  formed  under  the  laws  of  the  state  and  fifty  acres 
of  land  was  bought  north  of  town  for  which  $2,000  was  paid,  these  gentlemen 
advancing-  the  money,  knowing-  it  would  prove  a  means  of  profit  when  the  lots 
were  sold.  The  land  was  a  happy  choice.  It  is  dry  and  well  located,  having 
natural  advantages  tending  to  make  it  a  beautiful  burial  place.  Mr.  English 
was  elected  the  first  president  of  the  association,  and  Mr.  Short  secretary  and 
treasurer,  while  Messrs.  Williams,  LeSeure  and  Woodbury  were  the  directors. 
Mr.  Bowman  was  given  the  work  of  laying  it  out.  This  work  was  admiringly 
done.  Taking  advantage  of  the  natural  lay  of  the  land,  the  landscape  was 
given  all  the  beauty  of  lakes,  ravines,  gravelled  and  grassy  roads  and  paths. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cemeteries  of  Illinois.  As  the  years  passed 
the  place  made  improvement  or  not  as  the  men  in  charge  took  more  or  less  in- 
terest in  it.  The  present  superintendent,  Mr.  Anderson,  has  done  much  to 
beautify  it  and  to  make  it  an  attractive  place  to  visit. 

The  seventies  brought  many  changes  to  Danville  in  the  way  of  new  build- 
ings being  built.  The  old  court  house  was  destroyed.  There  was  no  doubt  that 
it  was  set  on  fire  and  no  one  had  the  heart  to  investigate  the  matter  nor  the 
disposition  to  censure,  for  it  had  long  been  a  disgrace  to  Vermilion  County. 
There  is  record  made  that  one  of  Danville's  favorite  citizens,  in  the  abandon 
of  youth,  drew  a  pistol  and  said  he  would  shoot  any  one  who  would  attempt 
to  put  the  fire  out.  The  present  building  was  erected  in  1876.  The  building 
cost,  complete  and  ready  for  occupancy,  the  sum  of  $105,000.  The  architect 
and  the  committee  who  had  charge  of  its  building  took  great  pride  in  the 
shape  of  the  building.  They  never  thought  that  their  building  would  show 
the  effects  of  wear  and  weather  to  the  extent  it  does  at  present,  but  it  is 
rapidly  growing  to  the  place  its  predecessor  held  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
thirty-five  years  ago. 

The  first  jail  stood  in  the  rear  of  the  courthouse,  but  the  fire  which  de- 
stroyed the  one  refused  to  burn  the  other.  The  old  jail  was  made  of  hewn 
logs  which  dove-tailed  together  and  were  pinned  together  through  the  corners. 
It  was  about  thirty  feet  long  and  had  a  partition  put  across  it  near  the  center 
to  separate  the  two  classes  of  people  who  were  liable  to  be  put  in  jail,  viz., 
the  prisoners  for  crime  and  those  for  debt.  When  the  jail  was  built  these 
latter  were  put  in  jail.  Large  river  stones  were  put  on  the  ground  and  a 
floor  was  placed  on  that.  It  was  covered  over  with  a  floor  like  this  of  hewn 
logs.  There  were  two  windows  in  this  building  about  eighteen  inches  square. 


226  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

One  man  who  has  had  charge  of  the  jail  for  some  time,  Hiram  Hickman,  said 
there  was  no  trouble  to  catch  a  horsethief,  but  the  trouble  was  to  keep  him, 
since  everyone  could  dig  his  way  out  before  the  next  term  of  court.  The  jail 
refused  to  burn  at  the  time  the  courthouse  was  destroyed,  but  it  had  to  get 
out  of  the  way  of  the  new  building  and  the  old  jail  was  removed  in  1873. 
The  new  jail  was  built  in  1874  and  has  always  been  a  credit  to  the  county. 
The  material  used  in  building  it  was  Joliet  stone  and  brick  and  the  plan  has 
always  been  pleasing.  It  has  a  front  on  South  Vermilion  street  of  forty-four 
feet  and  is  one  hundred  and  two  feet  deep  and  cost  $52,292.  The  building  com- 
mittee was  the  same  as  that  of  the  courthouse,  J.  G.  Holden  being  chairman. 
Battery  "A,"  First  Regiment  Illinois  National  Guards,  was  organized  in 

1875.  It  was  reorganized  in   1876.     The  Danville  Guards   was  organized   in 

1876.  A  very  valuable  association  to  a  country  was  formed  in  1877.    This  was 
called  Vermilion   County   Historical    Society.     This   society  was   made   up   of 
men  of  all  the  characteristics  most  to  be  admired   in  citizens  of   a  growing 
community.     Yet  with  everything  to  make  an   effective  organization,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  society  not  only  disbanded,  but  all  the  valuable  matter 
collected  and  the  priceless  relics  disappeared   to  never  be  found   where  they 
could  be  of  use.    Danville  is  rich  in  relics  of  Indian  life  and  the  collection  was 
of  particular  value  in  that  line,  which  is  all  too  rare  now. 

Another  force  for  the  improvement  of  the  citizen  was  the  Danville  Lyceum, 
established  about  that  time.  It  was  organized  July  4,  1878.  Its  object  was 
mutual  improvement  of  its  members.  It  numbered  forty  members  when  first 
started.  This  was  some  time  before  the  Danville  Public  Library  was  started. 
Mr.  Culbertson  had  made  his  bequest  of  $2,000  to  be  used  in  the  purchase  of 
a  library,  one-half  of  which  should  be  for  the  permanent  benefit  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  other  half  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public.  The  books  were  bought  by  a  committee  and  were  kept  in  the  library 
room  of  the  old  Presbyterian  church,  and  it  was  the  avowed  desire  and  inten- 
tion of  the  lyceum  to  secure  the  books  and  make  them  a  part  of  a  circulating 
library.  The  officers  of  the  Danville  Lyceum  were :  J.  D.  Benedict,  president ; 
W.  L.  French,  vice  president;  W.  C.  Johnson,  secretary.  The  board  of  di- 
rectors were:  W.  J.  Calhoun,  J.  D.  Benedict,  J.  B.  Samuels,  P.  E.  Northrup 
and  J.  W.  Whyte. 

The  Vermilion  Opera  House  was  built  on  the  corner  of  North  and  Ver- 
milion streets,  on  the  northeast  corner  opposite  the  old  North  Street  church. 
It  was  built  by  J.  G.  English,  Col.  Chandler  and  John  Dale,  in  1873.  It 
was  built  of  native  brick  with  Milwaukee  brick  trimmings;  50x110  feet,  with 
two  storerooms  on  the  first  floor  and  a  hall  on  the  upper  floor.  The  cost  of 
this  building  was  $20,000.  This  building  was  used  for  its  original  purpose 
for  a  time  and  after  it  was  no  longer  needed  for  that  purpose  it  was  converted 
into  a  building  for  the  use  of  the  Illinois  Printing  Company.  The  Illinois 
Printing  Company  located  in  Danville  in  1874.  It  was  first  housed  in  the 
building  on  North  street,  between  Vermilion  and  Hazel,  where  the  Daniel 
Housefurnishing  store  has  been  so  long.  The  Great  Western  Machine  &  En- 
gine Shops  were  opened  near  the  Wabash  tracts  in  1865.  Frisbie  &  Williams 
began  this  business  in  1865,  and  in  1869  J.  V.  Logue  bought  out  Williams  in- 
terest and  the  firm  name  was  Frisbie,  Logue  &  Co.  until  1874. 


NORTH  STREET   CHURCH 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  227 

Five  building  and  loan  associations  were  organized  from  the  time  of  the 
act  of  1872  until  the  last  one  chartered  in  June,  1874.  The  Moss  Bank  park 
was  laid  out  by  John  C.  Short  while  yet  he  owned  the  property  west  of  Dan- 
ville, and  promised  to  be  a  place  of  pride  and  pleasure  to  the  citizens.  The 
Ellsworth  park  was  laid  out  in  the  eighties  and  the  Lincoln  and  Douglas  parks 
were  made  a  part  of  Danville  in  the  nineties. 

H.  A.  Coffeen  was  a  factor  in  the  literary  and  business  development  of  the 
county,  that  should  not  be  overlooked.  Mr.  Coffeen's  parents  lived  in  Cham- 
paign, coming  there  in  1852.  They  were  Ohio  people.  Henry  A.  was  their 
second  son  and  early  set  out  in  life  as  a  school  teacher.  He  was  in  this  em- 
ployment until  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  the  last  two  schools  being  in 
Hiram  College,  in  Ohio,  and  as  superintendent  of  schools  in  Bement,  Illinois. 
Mr.  Coffeen  at  last  concluded  to  be  a  merchant  instead  of  a  school  teacher,  and 
started  a  bookstore  in  Danville.  He  kept  up  a  fine  store,  where  he  sold 
books,  pictures,  wall  paper  and  all  that  is  ever  found  in  a  store  of  that  kind. 
He  opened  the  store  in  about  1868  and  for  a  time  carried  it  on  by  his  unaided 
efforts,  but  later  he  took  as  his  partner  Charles  Pollock,  the  son  of  Dr.  Pol- 
lock. Mr.  Coffeen  was  the  author  of  the  first  history  of  Vermilion  County. 
It  is  a  small  book,  which  gives  many  facts,  valued  because  they  were  gleaned 
while  yet  it  was  possible  to  get  information  of  the  early  settlers  at  first  hand. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Clark  was  a  dry-goods  merchant  who  came  in  1871.  His  store 
was  on  Vermilion  street,  next  door  to  the  Aetna  Hfouse.  He  was  a  man  who 
had  done  good  service  for  his  country  during  the  bloody  sixties,  and  was  wel- 
comed as  a  citizen  of  the  growing  Vermilion  County. 

William  F.  Henderson  came  to  Georgetown  in  1878  and  went  into  the 
bank  of  E.  Henderson  &  Co.  as  cashier. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
SOME  ELDER  SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

JAMES  O'NEAL  CLAIMS  TO  BE  FIRST  WHITE  CHILD  OF  WHITE  CHILDREN — MRS. 
ELIZABETH    (MCDONALD)    HARMON,    ONE  OF  THE   FIRST    WHITE    CHILDREN 

BORN  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY JAMES  O'NEAL,  BORN  IN  1&22 MARY   (COX) 

PATTERSON,    BORN    IN    1823 WILLIAM    P.    SWANK,    BORN    IN    1824 PERRY 

O'NEAL,  BORN  IN  1825 — JAMES  H.  STEVENS,  BORN  IN  1826 — D.  B.  DOUGLASS 
AND  RHODA  M.  HESTER,  BORN  IN  1827 ABNER  SNOW,  S.  P.  LCNEVE  AND  AN- 
DREW GUNDY,  BORN  IN  1828 SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS  OF  1829 OF  1830 OF 

1831 OF  1832 OF  1833 OF  1834 OF  1835 OF  1836 — OF  1837 OF  1838 

HENRY  FLETCHER  AND  LIZZIE  (LOVE)  PAINTER,  BORN  IN  1839 SONS  AND 

DAUGHTERS  OF  1840 OF   184! OF   1842 OF   1843 OF  1844 OF   184$ OF 

1846 OF  1847 °F  1848 OF  1849. 

James  O'Neal  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (McDonald)  Harmon  have  both  been 
credited  with  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  Vermilion 
County,  in  the  same  historical  volume,  but  as  the  date  of  each  birth  is  easily 
found,  there  need  be  no  disagreement  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

James  O'Neal  was  born  April  20,  1822.  It  was  the  year  before  this  that 
the  parents  of  this  child  came  to  Vermilion  County,  and  the  father  took  up  a 
farm  on  what  later  was  known  as  the  Caraway  farm  near  Brooks  Point.  He 
lived  on  this  farm  for  three  years  and  then  moved  to  the  eighty  acres  of  land 
he  had  entered  on  the  Big  Vermilion.  It  was  during  the  time  the  family  lived 
near  Brooks  Point  that  James  was  born — the  first  white  child  to  see  the  light 
of  day  in  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  O'Neal  had  a  tan  yard  and  made  shoes  for 
himself  and  family  and  leather  for  the  moccasins  the  Indians  wanted.  James 
O'Neal  grew  up  in  the  midst  of  wild  life;  his  companions  were  the  Indians 
and  his  associates  the  other  boys  of  pioneer  families  who  occasionally  came 
into  his  life.  He  was  skilled  in  all  the  arts  of  hunting  and  trapping,  and  he 
well  knew  the  habits  of  the  wild  animals  which  were  so  plentiful  in  the  timber 
about  him.  As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  he  went  to  work  for  himself  find- 
ing employment  in  the  mill  on  the  Vermilion  river  afterward  called  the  old 
Kyger  mill.  Mr.  O'Neal  married  Miss  Vesta  Pratt,  herself  a  daughter  of 
Vermilion  County,  seven  years  younger  than  he.  Mr.  O'Neal  lived  all  his  life 
in  Vermilion  County. 

Elizabeth  Catherine  (McDonald)  Harmon  was  the  third  of  the  eleven  chil- 
dren of  Alexander  and  Catherine  King  (Alexander)  McDonald.  She  was  born 

228 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  229 

August  16,  1823,  on  her  fathers'  farm  home  in  Carroll  township,  near  George- 
town, and  claimed  to  be  the  first  white  child  born  in  Vermilion  County.  She 
received  a  common  school  education  in  the  nearby  country  schoolhouse.  She 
was  married  in  1844  to  Hardy  Wallace  Hill  M.  D.,  a  rising  young  physician, 
and  went  with  him  to  his  new  home  in  Cincinnati,  where  they  lived  for  five 
years.  In  1849  a  scourge  of  cholera  visited  this  city  and  Dr.  Hill,  through  his 
professional  duties,  fell  a  victim.  After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Hill 
came  back  to  her  father's  Illinois  home,  bringing  her  little  daughter,  Eleanor, 
with  her.  Six  months  later  her  other  daughter,  Lillian,  was  born.  A  few 
years  afterward  she  took  her  two  children  to  her  uncle  Cunningham's  home 
in  Danville,  where  she  lived  until  the  time  of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  O.  F.  Har- 
mon, on  February  22,  1854.  Mrs.  Harmon  was  again  widowed  after  ten 
years  by  the  death  of  her  husband,  then  Colonel  Harmon.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  daughters  and  one  son,  who  died  soon  after  his  father.  Lucy, 
the  oldest  daughter,  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  McPherson,  Fannie,  the  next 
daughter,  became  the  wife  of  Frank  Brooks,  and  after  his  death  of 

Corinne,  the  youngest  child,  died  unmarried  in  1901.  Mrs.  Har- 
mon made  her  home  in  Danville  after  the  death  of  Colonel  Harmon  until  1881, 
when  she  removed  to  Chicago.  From  that  time  on  she  divided  her  time  among 
her  three  daughters,  one  of  the  Pacific  coast,  another  in  the  middle  west,  and 
the  third  near  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Her  oldest  daughter,  Eleanor,  became 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Short,  and  the  second  daughter  died  in  1871,  shortly  before 
her  promised  marriage  with  Mr.  Nelson  Kimball  of  Danville.  Mrs.  Harmon  was 
somewhat  of  an  invalid  the  most  of  her  life  up  to  middle  life,  but  in  later 
years  she  enjoyed  good  health  and  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two  and  a 
half  years,  and  "fell  asleep"  in  her  daughter's  New  Jersey  home  on  February 
9,  1906. 

Mrs.  Mary  (Cox)  Patterson  was  born  in  Carroll  township  June  13,  1823, 
the  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Nancy  (Mundle)  Cox.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Virginia  and  married  a  girl  of  Pennsylvania.  They  came  to  Vermilion 
County  in  1823,  settling  in  Carroll  township.  He  secured  a  farm  which  he 
developed,  and  built  a  mill,  but  had  little  success  at  running  it.  His  daughter 
Mary,  the  second  child,  so  far  as  known,  to  be  born  in  Vermilion  County,  grew 
to  womanhood  under  the  conditions  of  pioneer  life.  She  was  of  good  disposi- 
tion, and  patiently  endured  all  hardships.  When  she  was  eighteen  years  old 
she  became  the  wife  of  Elijah  Patterson,  whose  home  had  always  been  in 
Ohio.  Although  he  had  apparently  settled  in  Vermilion  County  and  was  a 
citizen  of  Illinois,  after  his  marriage,  he  moved  back  to  Ohio.  But  he  re- 
turned to  Illinois  after  twelve  or  thirteen  years,  and  lived  in  Carroll  township 
until  his  death  in  1875.  Mrs.  Patterson  was  the  mother  of  ten  children.  She 
spent  her  last  days  in  plenty  and  comfort  at  the  same  place  where  she  first 
saw  the  light  of  day.  She  had  a  long  life  of  usefulness  and  made  many  de- 
voted friends  whose  pleasure  it  was  to  care  for  her  in  her  latter  years. 

John  P.  Swank  was  born  in  Indianola,  December  18,  1824.  Mr.  Swank's 
parents  came  to  Vermilion  County  at  a  very  early  date,  being  among  the  earliest 
pioneers.  They  were  Ohio  people  and  they  came  to  Carroll  township.  Mr. 
Swank  had  three  brothers  and  four  sisters,  and  a  family  of  that  size  had 


230  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

much  to  make  life  happy,  even  if  the  luxuries  of  older  communities  were 
missing.  Mr.  Swank  was  born  on  a  farm  and  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He 
married  Miss  Phoebe  Dickson  of  Indianola.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Doyle)  Dickson,  and  was  born  in  Vermilion  County  in  1829. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children.  Mr.  Swank  died  in  1894,  leaving 
many  friends  to  mourn  his  loss.  He  was  buried  at  Woodlawn  cemetery,  In- 
dianola. 

Perry  O'Neal  "was  born  January  16,  1825,  on  the  homestead  in  section  27, 
Georgetown  township.  He  was  the  brother  of  James  O'Neal,  who  claims  to 
be  the  first  white  child  born  in  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  O'Neal  lived  all  his 
life  in  Vermilion  County,  and  was  a  citizen  such  as  makes  the  best  of  any 
section. 

James  Stevens  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  on  section  9,  near  Brooks 
Point,  in  Georgetown  township,  Vermilion  County,  January  5,  1826,  and  there 
spent  the  first  years  of  his  life.  He  went  to  the  subscription  schools  which 
were  "kept"  in  the  log  house  with  a  puncheon  floor,  seats  and  desks  of  slabs, 
greased  paper  for  window  glass,  and  whatever  else  was  considered  necessary 
to  a  pioneer  schoolhouse.  When  he  was  a  boy,  the  nearest  mill  was  at  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana.  He  had  to  take  his  turn  going  with  the  bag  of  grain.  There 
were  but  two  wagons  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  radius  of  ten  miles,  and  each 
farmer  would  send  a  bag  of  grain  and  two  men  would  go  along  to  attend  to 
the  grist.  Later  a  mill  was  established  within  a  half  mile  of  the  Stevens  home 
and  was  considered  a  great  convenience.  Mr.  Stevens  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Roundtree  in  1857.  She  lived  in  Indiana  near  Crawfordsville,  and  he  made 
her  acquaintance  while  teaching  school.  He  had  great  success  as  a  school 
teacher,  and  he  was  later  offered  a  professorship  in  a  college  in  Missouri;  but 
because  of  the  approaching  war,  declined  it  that  he  might  go  in  the  service. 
Upon  the  call  for  75,000  men,  he  raised  a  company  in  and  about  Catlin,  but 
when  he  reported,  it  was  to  learn  that  the  quota  was  full  and  this  company 
could  not  be  accepted.  Mr.  Stevens  always  took  a  great  interest  in  all  educa- 
tional matters  and  was  well  posted  in  public  affairs. 

Dorman  B.  Douglass  was  born  in  Danville  township,  October  u,  1827. 
His  mother'  and  father  were  one  of  the  two  couples  who  were  married  first  in 
Vermilion  County.  Annis  Butler,  the  daughter  of  James  Butler  and  Marcus 
Snow,  were  married  first  by  Squire  Treat  at  Denmark  (he  was  justice  of  the 
peace  while  the  territory  was  yet  attached  to  Edgar  County)  and  Cyrus  Doug- 
lass and  Ruby  Bloss  were  married  immediately  afterward.  Dorman  Douglass 
was  the  second  in  order  of  birth  of  the  children  of  Cyrus  and  Ruby  (Bloss) 
Douglass.  They  lived  about  three  miles  south  of  Danville,  where  he  lived 
until  in  1865  he  moved  to  Fairmount,  where  his  wife  died  in  1866.  Mr.  Doug- 
lass lives  at  a  little  distance  north  of  Danville  and  himself  is  an  open  book  of 
history  of  Vermilion  County.  He  remembers  the  stretches  of  forest  and  un- 
broken prairie,  the  log  cabin  homes,  and  the  little  huddles  of  houses  which 
stood  on  the  sites  of  the  flourishing  towns  and  cities.  He  remembers  as  well 
the  flourishing  towns  which  were  promising  seventy  years  ago,  and  now  are 
hardly  visible.  He  can  remember  Danville  when  it  contained  but  three  stores, 
and  Denmark  when  it  was  a  very  promising  town.  He  went  to  school  in  a 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  231 

room  which  was  heated  by  a  great  fireplace  extending  across  one  end  of  the 
house.  Like  the  other  boys,  he  sat  on  slab  benches  and  conned  his  lessons 
in  an  audible  tone.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  handle  a  plow  he  went  to  work 
in  the  field  and  thereafter  was  always  busy.  The  first  plow  he  used  was  a 
wooden  mould  board,  and  he  drove  a  single  line  harness,  and  he  did  his  har- 
vesting with  a  reap  hook.  After  turning  the  furrow,  the  girls  of  the  family 
dropped  the  corn  by  hand.  In  1851  Mr.  Douglass  went  to  the  gold  fields  of 
the  west,  living  away  for  three  years.  Coming  back,  he  went  to  New  York 
by  boat  and  crossed  the  land  to  Vermilion  County. 

In  1864  Mr.  Douglass  made  that  long  trip  crossing  the  continent  going 
over  the  plains  of  Idaho  and  Montana,  remaining  about  two  and  a  half  years. 
Mr.  Douglass  remembers  well  the  first  matches  he  ever  saw.  He  remembers 
how  the  women  did  all  the  carding  and  weaving  and  spinning  of  the  cloth, 
as  well  as  sewing  of  the  garments.  He  has  seen  the  whole  family  go  two  or 
more  miles  to  church,  walking  all  the  way,  the  girls  carrying  their  shoes  to 
the  church  door  to  put  them  on  and  remove  them  when  they  started  for  home. 
Mr.  Douglass  married  Miss  Anna  Downing.  Her  parents  came  from  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky,  stopping  a  time  in  Indiana.  She  was  born  in  Kentucky. 
Mr.  Douglass  was  the  father  of  five  children,  and  twelve  grandchildren  and 
more.  Mr.  Douglass  has  lived  through  a  wonderful  period  and  his  experiences 
have  been  many,  and  the  tales  he  is  able  to  tell  are  of  intense  interest.  He 
has  made  trips  down  the  Mississippi  river  when  the  sale  of  human  beings  on 
the  public  streets  was  a  common  occurrence.  Twice  he  has  crossed  the  plains 
behind  ox  teams,  and  now  he  sees  steam  and  even  electricity  crowd  the  oxen 
out.  He  has  a  valuable  property  and  is  a  man  whose  every  want  is  supplied. 
In  appearance  he  impresses  one  with  his  varied  experience  by  a  manner  of 
having  lived  a  life  worth  the  while.  He  is  a  man  of  exceptional  pleasing  ad- 
dress and  is  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school. 

Mrs.  Rhoda  (Mills)   Hester  was  born  near  Vermilion  Grove,  December  7, 

1827.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Ira  Mills,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county. 
Ira  Mills  came  to  Vermilion  County  in   1822  and  located  two  miles  west  of 
Vermilion  Grove  on  what  was  later  known  as  the  great  Mills  farm,  and  which 
has  remained  in  the  possession  of  the   family  ever  since.     Rhoda   Mills   was 
very  industrious,  as  became  a  daughter  of  a  well  ordered  family,  and  during 
her  days  of  young  womanhood  made  use  of  the  education   she  had  received 
in  the  Georgetown  school ;  she  herself  became  a  school  teacher  and  helped  her 
family.     Her  parents   were   of  the   community   of   Friends,   and   in    1853   she 
became  the  wife  of  John  Hester,  a  young  man  of  the  same   faith.     He  was 
a  farmer  and  accumulated  a  good  property.     Mrs.  Hester  was  the  mother  of 
six  children.     Mrs.  Hester  was  widowed  in  1899  by  the  death  of  her  husband 
and  she  moved  from  the  farm  to  Ridge  Farm.     Her  later  life  was  a  reward 
for  the  early  days  of  patient  forbearance  and  industry;  for  careful  considera- 
tion of  others  pleasure,  and   straightforwardness  of  purpose. 

Abner   Snow  was  born  at  Butlers   Point,   Vermilion   County,   October   28, 

1828,  and  he  lived  there  all  his  life.    His  father,  Marcus  Snow,  and  his  mother, 
Annis  Butler,  were  one  of  two  couples  who  were  married  in  Vermilion  County, 
the  first  wedding  had  in  the  county.    Annis  Butler  was  the  daughter  of  James 


232  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Butler,  the  man  who  made  the  first  settlement  in  Vermilion  County  after  the 
salt  works.  When  James  Butler  went  back  to  Ohio  for  his  family,  he  found 
that  his  neighbors  would  not  share  the  wilds  of  the  new  country  with  him,  but 
he  was  not  obliged  to  come  on  entirely  alone,  for  young  Snow  wanted  to 
come  and  he  drove  one  of  the  teams.  Nothing  was  more  natural  than  that 
he  should  become  a  suitor  for  Mr.  Butler's  daughter  Annis  (perhaps  he  had 
already  selected  her  before  he  left  Ohio)  and  that  they  should  be  married  and 
begin  their  new  life  near  the  home  of  her  father.  When  Marcus  Snow  and 
Annis  Butler  were  married  they  settled  at  where  Westville  now  stands,  but 
lived  there  only  a  few  years,  going  thence  to  Catlin  township,  locating  on  land 
which  was  situated  on  the  state  road.  Here  Marcus  Snow  and  his  wife  pros- 
pered and  spent  their  married  life;  here  the  boy  Abner  grew  into  youth  with 
its  dreams  and  manhood  with  its  cares.  Here  the  elder  Snow  died  and  after 
a  time,  the  wife  of  Cyrus  Douglass  having  died,  Mrs.  Snow  became  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Douglass.  Abner  Snow  lived  his  life  in  Vermilion  County,  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  and  a  contented  citizen.  He  married  Miss  Ashman  and  became 
the  father  of  five  children,  to  all  of  whom  he  was  able  to  give  a  start  in  life. 

Samuel  P.  LeNeve  is  the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Newell)  LeNeve, 
and  together  with  his  brothers  and  sisters,  form  worthy  sons  and  daughters 
of  Vermilion  County.  Samuel  Perry  LeNeve  was  born  in  1828  and  spent  the 
days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  Newell  township  on  the  home  place.  He 
spent  his  winters  in  school,  as  good  as  could  be  found  in  the  schoolhouses  of 
that  period.  The  extravagance  of  the  present  school  buildings  and  furnish- 
ings seems  unreasonable  when  a  comparison  is  made  between  them  and  those 
of  even  this  period  when  it  was  thought  a  schoolhouse  of  any  kind  was  good 
enough.  The  schoolhouse  in  Newell  township  where  Samuel  LeNeve 
and  his  brothers  and  sisters  for  some  years  went,  had  benches  made 
by  sawing  off  the  logs  and  driving  pins  in  for  legs.  He  later  went  to  George- 
town, where  he  attended  the  school  there  which  was  in  truth  an  excellent  one. 
In  1852  he  went  to  California  by  way  of  New  Orleans,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  crossing  that  neck  of  land  by  way  of  the  Chagres 
river.  When  he  reached  the  other  side  he  found  7,000  passengers  awaiting 
transportation  to  California.  After  a  delay  of  nineteen  days  he  secured  pas- 
sage on  a  boat  going  to  California,  and  was  out  fifty-three  days,  during  which 
time  he  suffered  for  the  scarcity  of  food.  He  stopped  at  the  republic  of  Mex- 
ico, and  remained  there  for  twenty-two  days,  later  buying  a  ticket  on  the 
Golden  Gate  steamship  line,  and  went  through  to  San  Francisco.  He  soon 
secured  work  in  Marysville,  California,  in  the  mines  there.  He  received 
eighty,  and  later  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars  per  month.  He  reached  the  limit 
of  wages  when  he  had  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  month  for  work 
in  Marysville.  He  later  took  up  teaming,  which  business  he  followed  for 
fourteen  years.  He  then  went  to  Nevada  City  and  became  identified  with  the 
grain  and  stock  business,  after  which  he  made  his  home  in  Virginia  City  for 
two  years.  He  then  returned  to  his  native  place  in  Vermilion  County,  coming 
by  way  of  New  York  City.  Mr.  LeNeve  then  engaged  in  farming  on  section 
23,  carrying  on  stock  raising,  particularly  breeding  the  short  horn  cattle.  He 
later  moved  to  the  farm  three  miles  north  of  Danville.  Mr.  LeNeve  was  a 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  233 

public-spirited  man  and  has  been  a  strong  factor  in  the  development  of  Ver- 
milion County.  Mr.  LeNeve  was  married  in  1869  and  settled  in  Pilot  town- 
ship, where  he  accumulated  much  property. 

The  Gundy  family  is  one  which  has  been  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Ver- 
milion County  since  when,  in  1822,  Joseph  and  Sally  Gundy,  his  wife,  came 
to  Ross  township  and  settled.  He  came  from  Indiana,  being  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania or  Ohio.  Mr.  Joseph  Gundy  was  a  useful  and  enterprising  man  and 
a  pioneer  such  as  make  for  the  advancement  of  any  section  in  which  he  may 
choose  a  home.  He  died  in  1846  and  was  buried  in  the  Gundy  burying 
ground  near  Myersville.  Andrew  Gundy  was  born  on  the  Gundy  place  near 
Myersville,  November  20,  1828,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Sally  (Davidson) 
Gundy.  The  first  school  Andy  Gundy  attended  was  one  taught  by  George 
Stipp  in  a  vacant  house  on  the  Luke  Wiles  place,  just  west  of  the  North 
Fork  at  Myersville.  He  continued  his  studies  in  the  schools  of  that  section, 
going  to  Georgetown  for  his  higher  branches.  He  was  busy  on  the  farm  dur- 
ing his  youth,  but  when  he  was  twenty-three  years  old  he  went  into  business 
for  himself  as  a  merchant  in  Myersville.  He  at  the  same  time  carried  on  an 
extensive  trade  in  wool,  grain  and  stock.  He  was  a  man  of  affairs  and  held 
many  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  had  a  large  private  interest  in 
coal  lands,  and  when  he  was  sent  to  the  state  legislature,  was  chosen  as  a 
member  of  the  committee  on  mines  and  mining.  He  also  served  on  two  other 
committees,  one  of  which  was  the  finance  committee.  This  was  in  the  twenty- 
ninth  general  assembly.  He  was  repeatedly  elected  as  supervisor  from  Newell 
township,  and  he  accumulated  much  property  and  his  influence  was  extensive. 
He  was  identified  with  many  important  ventures  of  the  county,  one  of  which 
was  the  banking  and  other  interests  of  John  C.  Short,  in  which  he  lost  a 
large  amount  of  property.  Mr.  Gundy  was  never  married. 

John  P.  Donovan,  a  son  of  one  of  Vermilion  County's  pioneers,  was  born 
August  27,  1829,  on  Stone  Creek,  about  two  miles  north  of  Danville.  Al- 
though starting  life  with  so  little  promise,  he  had  an  experience  of  adventure 
equalled  by  few  men.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  old  he  left  home  and  was 
employed  on  a  farm  until  1861,  when  he  was  seized  with  the  California  gold 
fever  and  started  on  foot  and  alone  to  Fairmount,  where  he  took  the  train 
for  St.  Louis,  thence  by  the  way  of  the  Missouri  river  to  Omaha.  At  this 
point  a  company  of  eighteen  equipped  themselves  with  wagons  and  mules  to 
start  on  a  land  exploring  trip.  After  traveling  over  southeastern  Nebraska 
and  northeastern  Kansas,  they  finally  set  out  across  the  plains  from  Ft.  Leaven- 
worth.  They  were  forty-one  days  on  the  road.  Thence  they  went  to  Golden 
City,  where  young  Donovan  worked  by  the  day  for  two  weeks,  then  started 
over  the  range,  wading  in  snow  in  June,  until  he  came  to  Blue  river.  There 
he  found  much  excitement  about  California,  and  he  went  on  there.  He  took 
a  claim  and  went  to  mining  about  July  ist  in  the  snow,  and  after  working  two 
months,  sold  out,  having  made  $1,600  as  his  share  of  the  profits.  He  then 
went  on  to  San  Juan  Mountains.  At  Taos  the  company,  of  which  he  was 
one,  stopped  to  lay  in  a  store  of  provisions  and  here  fell  in  with  Kit  Carson 
who  was  organizing  a  company  to  go  to  the  southwestern  part  of  Arizona. 
Donovan  was  eager  for  this  adventure,  and  they  were  soon  on  their  way  on 


234  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

this  long  and  perilous  trip.  They  traveled  through  the  Navajo  country  where 
no  white  man  had  ever  before  ventured  and  met  many  thrilling  adventures. 
Kit  Carson  impressed  young  Donovan  very  favorably  and  was  always  said 
to  be  a  man  of  rare  charm.  He  was  kind-hearted  and  well-disposed  toward 
every  one,  and  while  rough  at  times  in  manner  and  speech,  he  was  in  every 
way  a  true  gentleman  at  heart.  The  company  of  which  Mr.  Donovan  was 
one  explored  the  country  along  the  Colorado  and  Gila  rivers  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia and  divided  at  Ft.  Garland,  returning  to  Colorado  by  diverse  routes. 
At  Buckskin  Joe  they  put  their  money  into  the  Phillips  lead  mine  and  had 
poor  returns.  After  this  Mr.  Donovan  went  to  Denver  and  Central  City, 
where  he  worked  by  the  day,  having  as  wage  $8  per  day.  Here  he  stayed 
nine  months  and  invested  a  portion  of  his  money  in  No.  3  Nottaway  lead, 
which  he  and  his  partner  worked  for  six  months  and  he  made  $25,000.  Being 
satisfied  with  his  profits,  Mr.  Donovan  returned  to  Vermilion  County  and 
bought  a  farm  in  Carroll  township,  there  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
John  Folger  was  born  in  Elwood  township,  section  25,  Harrison  Purchase,. on 
September  17,  1829.  His  father,  Latham  Folger,  had  a  tanyard,  and  the  son 
spent  his  early  years  in  work  about  it.  Later  he  helped  on  the  farm,  and 
when  he  came  to  choose  his  life  work,  it  was  that  of  a  farmer.  He  went  to 
school  more  than  did  most  boys  at  that  time,  first  to  the  Vermilion  Grove 
Academy  and  afterward  to  Bloomingdale,  Ind.  Mr.  Folger  was,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  this  choice  of  schools,  the  son  of  parents  who  belonged  to  the 
Society  of  Friends.  He  taught  school  for  three  winters  and  then  settled  on 
a  farm.  He  married  Miss  Reynolds,  whose  birthplace  was  in  Indiana.  They 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children.  Mr.  Folger  was  both  a  farmer  and  a  min- 
ister in  the  Society  of  Friends.  As  a  farmer  he  paid  much  attention  to  stock 
raising,  choosing  pedigreed  short  horns  and  Durhams  in  cattle,  Poland-China 
and  Berkshires  in  swine,  and  in  horses  he  had  Clydesdale,  Norman  and  Whip 
breeds.  Mr.  Folger  was  called  away  from  home  often  and  he  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  the  interest  of  his  church  work.  He  went  as  far  as  the  meetings 
in  Philadelphia  and  other  eastern  cities,  and  into  Iowa  and  Indiana. 

Minerva  Martin  was  born  in  Newell  township  on  August  16,  1829.  She 
was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  eleven  children,  all  of  whom  reached  the 
years  of  maturity.  She  became  the  wife  of  Edward  Rouse  in  1846  and  lived 
on  the  same  place  all  her  life.  Mrs.  Rouse  was  the  mother  of  twelve  chil- 
dren. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rouse  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  October  4,  1896. 

Silas  Dickson  was  born  in  Carroll  township  May  25,  1830.  He  was  the 
son  of  David  Dickson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Vermilion  County,  and  he  has 
been  a  worthy  successor  of  that  worthy  man.  His  life  was  spent  in  fanning 
and  stock  raising,  having  more  than  once  driven  stock  to  New  York  City  to 
market.  That  was  before  it  was  thought  possible  to  ship  them  by  train.  Mr. 
Dickson  lived  at  home  until  he  was  thirty-four  years  old.  He  always  held  an 
enviable  place  in  the  community.  Henry  Mills  was  born  on  what  was  known 
as  the  Thomas  Brown  farm  near  Vermilion  Grove  March  23,  1830.  He  was 
a  son  of  Seth  Mills,  who  with  his  parents  came  to  Wayne  County,  Indiana, 
in  1815,  and  were  pioneers  of  that  section,  he  becoming  in  his  turn  a  pioneer 
of  Vermilion  County,  Illinois.  He  came  to  his  farm  near  Vermilion  Grove 


E.  O.  B.  FITHIAN 


N.  R.  FAIRCHILD 


DIADAMA    AT  WOOD  MINERVA    (MARTIN)  AMANDA    (SHEPPARD) 

ROUSE  DICKSON 


JOTHAM  LYON 


ISAAC  CURRENT 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  235 

in  1828,  and  it  has  been  in  the  family  ever  since.  Henry  Mills  did  not  have 
his  early  education  neglected,  but  as  was  the  fact  with  the  children  of  all  those 
belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  he  was  sent  to  school  to  the  extent  at 
least  of  a  common  school  training.  He  followed  the  faith  of  his  father,  reach- 
ing the  distinction  of  becoming  an  elder  in  the  church  at  Elwood,  and  occupied 
the  important  position  of  "Head  of  the  Church"  at  that  place.  In  1852  he 
married  Mary  Folger,  herself  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County,  she  being  born 
in  Elwood  township.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  all  but  two  of 
whom  settled  not  far  from  them.  These  two  sons  married  sisters,  and  they 
all  went  to  Oregon. 

William  White  was  born  in  Blount  township  of  Vermilion  County  March 
20,  1830.  He  was  the  son  of  James  White,  a  pioneer  of  this  section.  James 
White  was  the  father  of  fourteen  children,  ten  of  whom  reached  adult  years 
and  had  families  of  their  own.  William  had  four  brothers  and  a  sister  beside 
himself  born  in  Blount  township,  and  all  but  one  brother  settled  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. The  childhood  and  youth  of  William  White  and  his  brothers  was 
spent  in  helping  on  the  farm.  A  subscription  school  for  three  months  during 
the  winter  was  the  only  chance  by  which  he  could  learn  to  read,  write  and 
cipher.  More  time  was  devoted  to  following  the  plow  than  to  reading.  From 
the  time  he  was  ten  years  old  he  followed  the  plow,  driving  oxen.  At  first  it 
was  a  wooden  mold  plow,  and  afterward  a  single  shovel  plow,  while  the  harness 
had  a  single  line.  He  planted  corn  by  hand,  cradled  the  grain  and  bound  the 
wheat  by  hand.  He  helped  his  mother  "dip  the  candles"  until  they  had  moulds, 
and  at  times  he  saw  a  turnip  hollowed  out  and  filled  with  grease,  into  which 
there  was  a  rag  put  and  lighted  for  the  purpose  of  giving-  desired  light.  People 
at  this  time  rode  to  church  on  horseback,  as  many  as  three  people  sitting  on 
one  sheepskin.  William  White  owned  the  last  yoke  of  oxen  in  his  neighbor- 
hood. It  was  a  splendid  team,  weighing  4,700  pounds,  but  the  work  done  on 
the  farm  did  not  require  their  strength  and  at  last  he  sold  the  team.  William 
White  married  Elizabeth  Wiles,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County, 
being  born  in  Blount  township  March  20,  1840.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Langford  and  Mary  (Cassat)  WSles.  After  they  were  married  they  settled 
on  the  eight-mile  prairie,  where  there  was  not  a  house  in  sight.  They  lived  in 
true  pioneer  style,  but  later  all  the  conveniences  of  modern  life  were  added  to 
their  home. 

E.  H.  Palmer  was  a  prominent  son  of  Vermilion  County  all  his  life.  He 
was  born  in  the  home  at  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Main  streets  in  Danville, 
Illinois,  August  10,  1830.  He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Asa  R.  Palmer,  a  native  of 
Connecticut.  Dr.  Palmer  came  to  Danville  when  it  was  in  its  infancy  and 
became  a  strong  factor  in  moulding  its  future.  He  had  an  extensive  practice 
throughout  Vermilion  County  and  is  well  counted  one  of  its  makers.  Eben  H. 
Palmer  went  to  such  schools  as  were  to  be  had  in  Danville  until  he  was  fitted 
to  enter  Wabash  College,  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana.  When  he  was  fifteen 
years  old  he  went  into  the  store  of  J.  M.  Culbertson,  where  he  remained  for 
a  time,  and  then  entered  Wabash  College,  where  he  went  for  four  years  until 
he  completed  the  course.  Upon  his  return  from  college  he  clerked  for  a  time 
and  then  entered  into  the  partnership,  being  one  of  the  firm  of  Humphry, 
Palmer  &  Co.,  general  merchants  and  druggists.  This  was  about  1885,  and 


236  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

from  that  time  to  his  death  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  active  and 
successful  and  prominent  business  men  of  the  county.  When  his  uncle  died 
in  the  office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools,  Mr.  Palmer  was  elected  to 
fill  out  his  unexpired  term.  At  the  close  of  this  term  he  was  needed  to  help 
organize  the  First  National  Bank  and  he  became  associated  in  this  business 
with  J.  G.  English  and  J.  L.  Tincher,  and  remained  in  this  connection  for 
thirty  years.  Mr.  Palmer  was  cashier  of  the  bank  from  the  first,  and  it  was 
his  popularity  as  well  as  shrewd  business  insight  that  made  the  bank  its  suc- 
cess as  much  as  anything.  Mr.  Palmer  was  interested  in  many  enterprises,  and 
accumulated  much  property.  He  was  a  valued  member  of  the  firm  of  Peyton- 
Palmer-English  Co.,  which  afterward  became  and  yet  is  Peyton-Palmer  Co., 
wholesale  grocers,  one  of  the  firms  to  which  Danville  owes  much.  Mr.  Palmer 
married  Miss  Frances  B.  Nelson  of  Urbana,  in  1854.  They  became  the  parents 
of  three  daughters  and  one  son.  The  youngest  daughter  became  the  wife  of 
Loren  Shutts,  the  son  of  John  Shutts,  the  Wabash  Railroad  agent  at  Danville 
for  so  long  a  time.  Mr.  Palmer's  son,  Frank  N.  Palmer,  is  a  minister  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  who  has  risen  in  his  profession  to  a  high  position.  He 
is  credited  with  being  a  recognized  authority  in  the  church  on  Bible  study,  as 
well  as  of  ability  in  sermonizing.  Mr.  Palmer  and  family  have  always  been 
prominent  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  father,  Dr.  Palmer,  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Danville,  and  Mr.  Palmer 
took  his  place  when  he  died.  So  closely  was  he  identified  with  that  church 
that  there  has  always  seemed  to  be  an  unfillable  vacancy  in  the  membership 
since  his  death.  Mr.  Palmer  died  in  1831. 

Sally  (Johns)  Copeland  was  the  oldest  child  of  John  and  Mary  Johns. 
She  was  born  in  Blount  township,  Vermilion  County,  September  4,  1831.  When 
Johns  and  his  wife  came  to  Vermilion  County  they  settled  on  the  farm  adjoin- 
ing that  of  Samuel  Copeland,  and  the  children  of  the  two  families  grew  up 
together.  When  the  oldest  daughter,  Sally  Johns,  was  seventeen  years  old, 
Samuel  Copeland  went  courting  and  she  became  his  bride.  She  had  been  his 
sweetheart  from  infancy.  They  made  their  home  in  Blount  township  and  in 
Danville.  She  died  suddenly  in  Danville.  Perry  Copeland  and  his  wife,  Sally 
(Johns)  Copeland,  were  the  parents  of  two  children,  daughters,  who  married. 
The  oldest,  Helen,  became  the  wife  of  A.  D.  Shepherd,  and  the  younger,  Lida. 
became  the  wife  of  Harry  Fowler  of  this  county. 

George  W.  Hoskins  was  born  three  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  George- 
town, near  the  Little  Vermilion  river,  February  20,  1830.  His  father,  Azariah 
Hoskins,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1825,  by  flatboat  from  their  home  in 
Virginia,  down  the  Ohio  river  to  Cairo,  in  Illinois,  where  they  took  wagons 
and  came  to  Vermilion  County.  It  took  several  weeks  for  them  to  make  this 
trip.  Mr.  Hoskins,  the  father  of  George  W.  Hoskins  (who  was  born  in  Ver- 
milion County)  settled  on  what  was  known  as  the  Helt  Prairie,  and  later  re- 
moved to  the  vicinity  of  Georgetown  in  the  timber,  and  married  Sarah  Swisher. 
When  George  W.  Hoskins  was  about  a  year  old  his  father  moved  to  what  is 
known  as  the  Walnut  Grove,  or  where  Rossville  is  now  located.  He  had 
bought  a  tract  of  land  there  and  it  did  seem  to  be  very  near  to  the  end  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  237 

the  settlements.  There  was  only  one  family  living  in  the  grove  and  only  one 
white  family  living  between  their  house  and  Chicago,  which  was  better  known 
as  Fort  Dearborn.  Danville  had  only  one  store  in  it  at  that  time.  George 
Hoskins  never  had  any  but  home-made  clothing,  up  to  the  time  he  was  twenty 
years  old.  The  material  from  which  his  garments  were  made  was  the  product 
of  his  mother's  spinning  wheel  and  loom,  and  the  cut  and  making  was  her  work 
as  well.  When  he  was  twenty  years  old  he  bought  some  cloth,  hired  a  tailor 
to  cut  it,  and  had  a  neighbor  woman  sew  it.  They  had  no  matches  but  hunted 
punk  in  the  woods  and  made  a  fire  by  using  flint  and  tow.  This  fire  was  care- 
fully kept,  and  if  by  any  misfortune  it  should  go  out,  someone  must  run  to 
the  neighbors  and  borrow  a  little  on  the  shovel.  The  corn  they  raised  was 
worth  ten  cents  per  bushel  and  other  produce  corresponding  in  price.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  E.  Gritton,  who  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1850,  and  afterward  bought 
a  farm  in  Ross  township  for  which  he  paid  $6  per  acre.  Mr.  Hoskins  was 
the  parent  of  six  children  who  lived  to  maturity  and  others  who  died  in  infancy. 
All  of  their  children  married  and  settled  within  six  miles  of  them;  they  had 
bought  the  old  home  farm  in  1867.  Mr.  Hoskins  has  served  as  tax  collector 
and  school  director  and  been  identified  with  the  building  of  churches  and 
schools  in  that  neighborhood. 

James  S.  Sconce  was  born  at  Brooks  Point  November  14,  1831.  There  was 
no  citizen  of  Vermilion  County  better  known  or  more  respected  than  this 
son;  His  father  was  Samuel  Sconce  and  his  mother  Nancy  (Walters)  Sconce. 
Mr.  Sconce  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1829,  and  here  found  Nancy  Waters, 
who  had  come  with  her  parents  to  near  Brooks  Point  the  previous  year.  James 
Sconce  had  one  brother  and  one  sister.  These  children  were  early  taught  in- 
dustry, and  James  lived  on  the  farm  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  old,  when 
he  went  into  the  store  of  Sconce  &  Bailey,  drawing  a  salary  of  three  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  In  1859  he  went  to  Kansas  and  preempted  160  acres  of  land, 
which,  after  a  time,  he  traded  for  land  in  Illinois.  It  was  when  he  began 
feeding  cattle  for  himself  that  his  fortune  began.  James  Sconce,  it  is  said, 
was  the  best  feeder  in  Vermilion  County,  and  no  one  has  ever  excelled  him. 
His  judgment  was  good  and  he  seemed  to  know  instinctively  how  to  proceed. 
He  married  the  only  daughter  of  Harvey  Sodowsky,  the  well  known  short- 
horn breeder  of  Vermilion  County,  and  the  man  to  whom  a  debt  of  gratitude 
is  due  as  having  introduced  shorthorn  cattle  into  this  section.  After  his  mar- 
riage, Mr.  Sconce  lived  for  one  year  in  the  home  of  his  father-in-law,  after 
which  he  located  on  the  farm  which  has  been  made  famous  because  of  what  he 
and  his  wife  and  son  have  done  to  improve  it.  At  the  suggestion  of  Mrs. 
Sconce,  the  name  of  Fairview  has  been  given  the  farm,  and  each  year  it  has 
grown  more  appropriate  by  reason  of  improvements  made.  Mr.  Sconce  bought 
and  fed  cattle  and  swine  and  rapidly  accumulated  a  fortune.  At  his  death  in 
1888,  Mr.  Sconce  was  estimated  to  be  worth  from  $200,000  to  $300,000,  every 
cent  of  which  he  had  accumulated  by  farming  and  stock  raising.  The  memory 
of  this  good  man  has  not  dimmed,  and  now  he  is  spoken  of  to  strangers  in 
terms  of  praise  not  often  given.  His  life  was  simple,  his  methods  straight- 
forward, his  manner  gentle.  He  was  kind-hearted  to  those  in  distress,  gener- 
ous to  the  poor,  indulgent  to  the  weak,  and  charitable  to  the  erring.  Mr. 


238  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Sconce  was  a  man  of  pleasing  appearance,  tall  with  keen  blue  eyes.  He  was 
a  man  who  would  naturally  have  many  friends ;  he  was  popular  and  worthy 
the  friendship  of  any  man.  He  took  great  interest  in  matters  educational,  and 
particularly  made  the  Wesleyan  University  his  charge,  making  generous  pro- 
vision for  its  welfare.  He  was  ever  ready  to  help  any  struggling  young  man 
who  was  trying  to  help  himself,  and  in  his  death  such  as  they  lost  a  friend  in- 
deed. In  brief,  Mr.  Sconce  proved  by  his  life  that  he  was  a  man  any  county 
might  be  proud  to  call  son. 

Mrs.  Sconce,  the  wife  of  James  Sconce,  was  herself  a  daughter  of  Ver- 
milion County,  of  whom  no  less  can  be  said.  She  was  the  only  child  of  Harvey 
Sowdusky,  and  by  reason  of  her  lifelong  wealth  might  have  indulged  herself 
in  any  luxury  possible,  but  her  disposition  was  otherwise,  and  she  has  lived  in 
a  spirit  of  unselfish  helpfulness  to  others  that  is  as  rare  as  it  is  admirable. 
She  makes  her  home  on  the  well  loved  "Fairview"  farm,  which  she  shares 
with  her  only  son,  Harvey.  Her  works  of  kindness  are  many,  and  her  chari- 
ties extended.  Her  home  is  ever  the  home  of  the  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  to  her  any  good  cause  appeals  and  receives  her  aid.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sconce  were  the  parents  of  two  children.  The  daughter  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Will  Cathcart,  who  is  a  banker  of  Sidell  and  lives  at  that  short  distance 
from  her  mother  and  brother.  Harvey  Sconce,  the  brother,  has  proven  that  he 
is  as  capable  of  the  management  of  Fairview  as  the  son  of  James  Sconce  and 
the  grandson  of  Harvey  Sowdusky  should  be. 

Jonathan  Pratt  and  Nancy  Stevens,  natives  of  Indiana,  both  of  them  met 
and  were  married  in  Danville  and  began  their  married  life  at  Brooks  Point, 
but  afterward  moved  from  there  into  the  Big  Vermilion  district.  While  liv- 
ing there  Mr.  Pratt  enlisted  in  the  Illinois  Rangers,  soon  after  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  while  yet  they  were  located  about  Danville.  He  proved  himself  a  fear- 
less soldier,  when  he  was  taken  ill  with  cholera  near  Galena  and  died  within 
six  days  of  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment.  This  couple  were  the 
parents  of  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County.  Thomas, 
the  son,  was  the  youngest  and  was  born  at  Brooks  Point,  as  was  his  sister. 
When  he  reached  manhood  he,  living  in  Brooks  Point  and  the  vicinity  of  the 
Big  Vermilion,  having  received  as  good  an  education  as  was  possible  at  that 
time,  went  off  for  himself,  and  for  one  year  was  a  butcher  in  Danville.  He 
was  also  interested  in  a  market  in  that  city.  He  afterward  went  to  Westville, 
in  Georgetown  township,  and  was  buying  and  shipping  grain  from  that  point 
for  five  years.  For  the  next  fifteen  or  more  years  he  bought  and  shipped  stock 
of  all  kinds.  He  lived  in  Georgetown  township  until  1880,  when  he  went  to 
Catlin  township,  having  bought  the  farm  of  Mr.  Sandusky.  Mr.  Pratt  mar- 
ried Miss  Nancy  Scott  in  Brooks  Point  in  1851.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Ver- 
milion County,  and  was  born  in  Brooks  Point  January  23,  1829.  She  died 
at  Brooks  Point  December  5,  1870.  Mr.  Pratt  afterward  married  Miss  Mary 
E.  Clayton.  He  was  the  father  of  ten  children.  Mr.  Pratt  has  always  been 
a  man  of  unsullied  reputation  and  a  creditable  citizen  of  the  county. 

Amos  Smith  Williams,  the  son  of  Amos  Williams,  the  man  who  held  all 
the  offices  in  Danville  at  the  time  of  its  first  being,  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Vermilion  County  for  many  years.  He  was  born  in  Danville  August  22,  1831, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  239 

in  the  home  place  on  South  Walnut  street.  He  was  one  of  six  children,  all 
hut  one  of  whom  were  born  in  Danville.  The  exception  was  the  oldest  child, 
a  daughter,  Maria  Louise,  who  was  born  at  Butlers  Point.  Amos  Smith  Wil- 
liams or  "Smith"  Williams,  as  he  was  better  known,  went  to  school  in  Dan- 
ville, and  when  he  was  ready  for  the  higher  studies,  he  went  to  Paris,  Illinois. 
He  spent  seven  years  in  California,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  came  to  Dan- 
ville and  opened  a  hardware  store.  He  was  later  interested  in  a  queensware 
store  and  in  the  coal  interests,  and  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  was  retired 
from  all  business  cares.  He  had  accumulated  much  property,  besides  that 
which  he  had  inherited  from  his  father's  estate,  and  left  his  family  with  means 
of  a  luxurious  living.  He  was  associated  with  many  interests  of  the  city,  and 
in  most  of  them  he  was  successful.  He  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the 
Iron  Wagon  Works  and  the  starch  factory,  also  a  box  factory,  and  he  was 
vice  president  of  the  first  street  car  company  organized  in  Danville.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  a  man  of  rare  business  sagacity,  and  energy  to  put  through  an  en- 
terprise when  his  judgment  showed  it  to  be  a  good  one.  He  was  wise  in 
worldly  works,  and  besides,  was  a  man  of  the  kindest  heart,  whom  to  know 
was  to  admire.  Mr.  Williams  died  February  14,  1891.  In  1860,  Mr.  Wil- 
liams married  Miss  Sarah  Jane,  a  daughter  of  George  Greyson,  a  pioneer  of 
Vermilion  County,  who  came  in  the  early  thirties.  Miss  Greyson  was  herself 
a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County,  she  having  been  born  in  Danville,  October 
19,  1835.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  all  boys 
but  one.  One  of  these  children  died  in  infancy.  Of  the  others,  Lynne,  the 
oldest,  became  the  wife  of  Well  Beckwith  and  always  lived  across  the  street 
from  her  mother.  Carroll  has  always  lived  with  his  mother,  a  devoted  son. 
Mr.  Williams  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
in  their  younger  life,  but  in  later  days  Mr.  Williams  became  very  much  in- 
terested in  the  Episcopal  church,  and  went  into  its  communion ;  but  Mrs.  Wil- 
liams never  left  the  church  of  her  youth. 

Diadama  (Bloomfield)  Atwood  is  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County,  whom 
all  who  know  her  life,  love  to  honor.  She  was  born  in  Pilot  township  in 
1832,  and  has  always  lived  there.  Her  father,  Samuel  Bloomfield,  came  to 
Vermilion  County  a  pioneer,  and  became  the  father  of  twelve  children.  Mrs. 
Atwood  was  taught  to  read  and  write  and  whatever  more  was  possible  to  crowd 
into  the  schools,  which  were  in  session  only  during  the  winter  months  about 
the  neighborhood.  After  her  father  died  she  bought  the  old  home  place 
of  ninety-two  acres,  and  she  secured  forty  acres  through  the  division  of  the 
estate.  They  lived  on  the  home  farm  and  Mr.  Atwood  not  only  supervised 
its  management,  but  was  also  a  preacher  in  the  Christian  church.  Mr.  Atwood 
enlisted  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Harmon  and  Capt.  Vinson,  but  he  was  not  in  any  battle, 
yet  his  health  was  so  completely  undermined  that  he  came  home  and  died  in 
less  than  six  weeks  from  the  exposure  of  the  army  life.  Mrs.  Atwood  has 
lived  her  life  since,  a  widow  indeed,  spending  her  time  in  the  care  of  their 
children  and  grandchildren  and  in  useful  work.  Her  youngest  child  was  but 
four  years  old  when  Mr.  Atwood  died,  so  that  her  task  of  rearing  these  little 
ones  was  no  light  one.  When  Mr.  Atwood  died  the  farm  consisted  of  160 


240  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

acres  of  land,  but  before  the  property  was  divided  she  had  increased  it  to  such 
an  extent  that  there  were  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  acres.  She  gave 
each  of  her  children  forty  acres  and  kept  one  hundred  for  herself,  upon  which 
she  lives,  and  besides  this  has  other  farms  elsewhere.  She  has  been  prosperous 
and  at  one  time  has  fed  more  than  forty  head  of  cattle.  She  deserves  much 
credit  for  her  pluck  and  good  management  of  her  affairs. 

Daniel  Brewer  was  born  on  the  5th  of  September,  1832,  on  a  farm  four 
miles  northeast  of  Danville,  in  Vermilion  County.  He  was  a  son  of  Richard 
Brewer,  and  his  wife,  Christina  (Roderick)  Brewer.  Daniel  Brewer  spent  his 
boyhood's  days  on  the  farm,  and  went  to  school  near  Danville  at  what  was 
known  as  the  Lamb  district  school.  Mr.  Brewer  was  married  to  Mariah  Cun- 
ningham, who  was  a  native  of  Clinton  County,  Indiana.  They  were  the  parents 
of  eight  children  but  all  but  three  died  in  childhood.  Mr.  Brewer  sold  his  farm 
and  bought  in  Jamaica  township,  on  section  30.  His  memory  of  Danville  is  when 
it  was  a  hamlet  of  a  few  houses  of  round  logs  in  one  of  which  his  sister  Mary  was 
born.  The  land  on  which  the  city  of  Danville  was  built  was  at  that  time  worth 
fifteen  dollars  per  acre.  Their  trading  was  done  in  Covington,  Indiana,  and  Chi- 
cago. It  was  in  Chicago  that  his  father  bought  leather  and  hauled  it  in  wagons. 
Calico  was  a  precious  article,  and  was  worth  twenty-five  cents  per  yard.  This 
was  the  popular  material  from  which  to  make  best  dresses.  Wheat  was  then 
worth  fifty  cents  a  bushel  and  corn  from  ten  to  twenty  cents  per  bushel.  When 
the  canal  was  finished  at  Covington  corn  went  up  to  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel. 
Mr.  Brewer  has  bought  and  sold  cows  for  ten  dollars. 

Jotham  Lyons  was  born  in  Georgetown  township,  near  the  place  his  father 
first  settled  when  he  came  to  Vermilion  County.  His  birth  was  September  25, 
1832.  He  lived  the  life  of  the  sons  of  the  pioneers  to  this  section  and  attended 
the  same  schools  that  have  so  many  times  been  described.  The  same  privations 
and  the  same  freedom  were  his.  Jotham  Lyons  married  Miss  Worth,  a  daugh- 
ter of  a  pioneer  settler  of  Wisconsin.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children, 
all  but  one  of  whom  grew  to  maturity  and  had  families  of  their  own. 

John  J.  Partlow  was  the  son  of  James  Partlow,  who  in  his  turn  was  the  son 
of  Samuel,  both  of  the  latter  being  pioneers  of  Middle  Fork  township.  James 
Partlow  took  up  a  tract  of  land  on  the  Middle  Fork  as  soon  as  he  came  in  1831, 
which  was  part  timber  and  part  prairie.  He  put  up  a  rail  pen  for  the  temporary 
shelter  of  his  family  but  John  was  not  born  until  the  log  cabin  was  finished. 
He  went  to  school  in  the  log  schoolhouse  which  had  greased  paper  for  window 
glass,  and  later  attended  the  Georgetown  Seminary,  and  the  Danville  Seminary. 
He  had  been  employed  in  a  drug  store  some  two  years  before  this,  and  after- 
ward he  went  as  clerk  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  V.  &  P.  LeSeure,  where  he 
stayed  three  years.  He  then  went  into  partnership  with  Mr.  R.  A.  Short,  and 
remained  fhere  for  two  years  at  which  time  he  bought  out  Mr.  Short  and  con- 
tinued the  store  by  himself  for  twelve  years.  He  went  into  the  employ  of  the 
C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R.  at  this  time  and  continued  in  this  service  until  his  death.  In 
1857  Mr.  Partlow  married  Frances  Giddings,  the  eldest  child  of  William  and 
Caroline  Giddings. 

Golden  Patterson  was  born  on  the  same  place  where  he  now  lives,  which  was 
the  old  homestead,  July  17,  1833.  His  father  came  from  Tennessee,  a  pioneer 


^^^^^ 


L1DE  (JOHNS) 
COPELAND 


PERRY  COPELAND 


J.  A.  CUNNINGHAM       W.  T.  CUNNINGHAM        GEORGE  DILLON 


DAVID  MEADE 


JOHN"  FRAZIER.   SR. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  241 

to  the  Little  Vermilion  and  his  mother  came  with  her  father,  William  Golden, 
to  near  the  same  place.     Mr.  Patterson,  the  father  entered  500  acres  of  land 
from  the  government  when  he  first  came,  and  it  rose  in  value  until  now  it  is  worth 
a  large  price.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patterson  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  the 
youngest  of  which  was  Golden.     The  mother  of  these  children  died  when  this 
youngest  was  an  infant  and  the  father  survived  her  about  ten  years.     Golden 
Patterson  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  but  worked  at  it  but  little  always 
seeming  to  be  too  great  a  success  as  a  farmer  to  take  up  other  employment.     He 
has  accumulated  a  large  tract  of  land  and  has  a  fine  farm.    Mr.  Patterson  enjoys 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  his  neighbors  and  is  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  the  county.    It  was  in  1830  that  Alexander  Church  and  his  wife  and 
young  family  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Virginia  and  settled   in  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  present  day  Catlin.     Mr.  Church  had  married  Ruth 
Carawayi  before  he  came  west  and  her  relatives  came  to  Vermilion  County  at 
the  same  time.     Mr.  Church  made  his  home  on  section  3,  and  the  land  has  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  the  family  ever  since.    Two  years  later,  a  little  son 
came  to  this  home  and  William  Church  saw  the  light  of  day  in  the  pioneers 
home  in  Vermilion  County.     This  was  the  tenth  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Church  and  before  long  the  mother  died.     William  grew  up  to  all  the  discom- 
forts of  a  new  settler's  life,  to  all  the  privations  and  pleasures  as  well.     Alex- 
ander Church  lived  until  1892  and  had  he  lived  two  months  longer  he  would 
have  reached  the  age  of  ninety.     William  Church  went  to  a  subscription  school 
in  a  time  that  the  inconveniences  of  the  school  room  were  often  as  nothing  to 
the  advantages  of  having  a  good  teacher.    In  those  days  the  pupils  were  expected 
to  do  things  that  the  present  day  school-boy  would  resent,  if  he  were  asked  to 
do.    But  an  unruly  pupil  made  objections  at  great  risk.    A  hickory  rod  always 
hung  in  plain  sight  and  it  was  used  to  a  purpose  when  occasion  called  its  use 
forth.    In  1852  William  Church  married  Miss  Hester  M.  Douglas,  who  was  her- 
self a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County.     Miss  Douglas  was  born  in  Catlin  town- 
ship,  October  7,    1834,   her  parents   being  Thomas   W.   and  Delilah    (Payne) 
Douglas. 

Thomas  W.  Douglas  had  entered  land  on  the  site  of  the  county  poor  house. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Church  became  the  parents  of  five  children,  all  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity,  and  had  families  of  their  own. 

1833 : — Asa  Partlow,  the  son  of  Reuben  and  Elizabeth  Partlow,  was  born 
in  Danville,  on  South  Hazel  street,  January  6,  1833.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Danville,  attending  the  Methodist  Seminary.  In  1854  he  became  one 
of  the  firm  of  Lamm,  Partlow  &  Company,  which  did  business  in  the  building 
where  the  present  Danville  National  Bank  is  located.  The  building  on  that 
corner  was  remodeled  a  few  years  ago,  but  the  location  is  the  same.  The  other 
members  of  the  firm  of  Lamm,  Partlow  &  Co.  were  the  father  of  Asa  Partlow 
and  Mr.  William  Lamm.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Lamm,  which  occurred  in 
1863,  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  A.  Partlow  &  Co.,  and  later  to  Partlow  & 
Draper,  with  a  change  of  location  to  the  Giddings  block  on  Main  street,  near 
Hazel.  February  26,  1857,  he  married  Mary  Murdock,  who  was  also  a  resident 
of  Danville. 


242  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Asa  Partlow  was  a  pioneer  in  the  Building  &  Loan  buisness  and  was  the  first 
Secretary  of  the  People's  Building  and  Loan  Association  and  continued  in  that 
office  until  it  paid  out,  a  period  of  ten  years.  He  was  secretary  of  the  Equitable 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  until  on  account  of  failing  health  he  gave  it  up. 
He  died  suddenly  and  was  buried  in  Springhill  Cemetery.  Mr.  Partlow  was  the 
father  of  three  children,  all  of  them  boys.  They  all  resided  in  Danville,  except 
the  oldest,  Harry,  who  died.  The  other  two  are  Edmond  R.  who  took  his 
father's  business  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  give  it  up  and  Augustus, 
who  is  an  attorney  in  Danville. 

Uriah  Folger  was  born  in  Elwood  township,  April  23,  1834.  His  father, 
Asa  Fogler,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1831  and  settled  in  the  Elwood  neigh- 
borhood. He  was  a  tanner,  and  also  a  shoemaker  and  he  carried  on  this  busi- 
ness for  years,  doing  such  work  for  the  settlers  around.  He  had  so  much  to  do 
that  he  employed  four  or  five  men  at  times. 

Uriah  Folger  received  his  early  education  in  the  subscription  school  and  his 
advanced  training  in  the  Bloomingdale  Academy  under  Prof.  Hobbs.  He  was 
an  apt  pupil,  and  has  always  been  a  typical  quaker.  He  spent  the  years  of  his 
manhood  as  an  exhorter  in  the  church  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  was  always 
considered  a  model  of  kindness  and  good  deeds. 

Jonathan  Larrance  was  another  son  of  Vermilion  County,  born  in  this  neigh- 
borhood in  this  same  year,  1834.  His  parents  came  to  this  section  in  1827  and 
made  themselves  a  home.  Jonathan  Larrance  attended  the  Vermilion  Academy, 
then  called  the  Vermilion  Seminary,  where  he  received  his  education  in  books. 
His  entire  life  was  spent  in  the  same  neighborhood  where  every  one  knew  him 
and  he  knew  every  one.  He  was  a  good  farmer  and  accumulated  much  prop- 
erty, and  at  his  death  in  1885,  he  left  295  acres  of  well  improved  land  to  his 
heirs.  He  was  the  father  of  seven  children,  six  of  whom  survived  him. 

Thomas  F.  Collison  was  born  on  the  farm  where  he  always  lived,  October 
12,  1834.  When  he  reached  the  time  when  he  was  old  enough  to  go  to  school 
a  governess  was  employed  to  teach  him.  The  other  children  of  the  household 
were  taught  by  her  and  any  in  the  neighborhood  who  chose  to  come  were  wel- 
come in  the  Collison  home.  Later  he  attended  the  subscription  school,  which 
was  a  typical  pioneer  school.  In  these  schools  the  boys  who  were  pupils  were 
required  to  cut  the  fire  wood  and  take  it  to  the  schoolhouse.  In  this  school  a 
testament  was  used  as  a  reader  and  an  old  elementary  spelling  book  was  another 
of  the  text  books. 

Mr.  Collison  lived  at  home  until  after  the  death  of  his  father  and  when  the 
estate  was  settled  his  share  was  one  hundred  acres  of  unimproved  land  and 
ninety  dollars  in  money.  Mr.  Collison  has  been  a  man  of  great  success  in  life. 
He  has  built  one  of'  the  finest  homes  in  the  county.  He  has  now  retired  from 
active  work  on  his  farm  and  lives  in  Danville.  He  has  been  a  son  of  which 
Vermilion  County  is  justly  proud. 

James  A.  Dickson,  another  worthy  son  of  Vermilion  County  was  born  near 
Indianola,  December  5,  1834.  His  parents  had  come  from  Kentucky  to  Ver- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  243 

milion  County  in  the  twenties  and  settled  on  the  Little  Vermilion.  Mr.  Dick- 
son,  the  father,  died  when  James  was  but  three  years  old  and  his  mother  kept 
the  family  together  and  in  1853,  she  built  a  large  house  on  the  place,  so  suc- 
cessful had  her  efforts  been.  She  died  in  the  following  year.  James  Dickson 
was  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  all  of  whom  died  comparatively  young. 
He  worked  on  the  farm  after  he  was  sixteen  years  old  and  had  stopped  going 
to  school,  and  then  on  a  piece  of  swamp  land  belonging  to  his  brother  and  then 
bought  some  land  of  his  own  in  what  was  Carroll  township  and  now  is  called 
Jamaica  township.  The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Dickson  was  Mary  Frances  Busby, 
and  he  later  married  Miss  Amanda  J.  Shepperd,  herself  a  daughter  of  Ver- 
milion County.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Nancy  Shepperd,  who 
were  married  in  Vermilion  County.  John  Shepperd  owned  the  well  known 
Shepperd  mills. 

Amanda  J.  (Shepperd)  Dickson,  was  born  in  Vance  township,  December 
20,  1832,  and  died  July  n,  1888.  Mr.  Dickson  lived  on  the  farm  he  first  bought 
for  eleven  years,  when  he  sold  it  and  bought  one  on  sections  22  and  27  in  Ja- 
maica township  with  a  portion  of  it  in  Georgetown  township.  He  is  a  man 
of  prominence  in  his  community  and  well  liked  by  all. 

W.  T.  Cunningham  was  a  well  known  man  of  Danville  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  born  in  Danville,  February  8,  1834,  the  son  of  Heze- 
kiah  Cunningham  and  Mary  (Alexander)  Cunningham,  who  made  their  home 
in  Danville  in  1828.  Mr.  Cunningham,  familiarly  known  as  "Bud,"  grew  up  and 
went  to  school  in  Danville.  His  first  work  for  himself  was  as  clerk  in  a  drug 
store,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  He  was  appointed  to  clerkships  under 
the  government  both  in  Danville  and  Washington.  President  Lincoln,  of  whom 
he  was  a  personal  friend  appointed  him  collector  of  the  Seventh  District.  He 
was  afterward  elected  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  court  and  repeatedly  reelected.  Later 
he  was  made  Master  in  Chancery.  Mr.  Cunningham  married  Miss  Lucy  Lamon 
in  1859.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Lamon,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Vermilion  County.  They  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  one  of  whom  died 
in  infancy.  Mrs.  Cunning-ham  died  in  1875. 

Later   Mr.   Cunningham   married    Miss   Stansbury. 

Michael  Fisher  was  born  in  Carroll  township,  within  half  a  mile  of  Indianola. 
November  6,  1835.  He  was  the  son  of  David  Fisher,  and  there' were  four  chil- 
dren in  the  family  beside  Michael.  This  son  was  brought  up  on  his  father's 
farm  and  went  to  the  subscription  schools  during  his  school  days.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1864  to  Maryette  Baum,  daughter  of  John  Baum,  herself  a  daughter  of 
Vermilion  County.  She  was  born  in  Indianola.  Mr.  Baum  continued  farming 
for  a  dozen  or  more  years  after  he  was  married  and  then  he  went  into  Indianola 
and  had  a  hardware  store. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  a  son  and  two 
daughters.  One  of  the  daughters  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Sidell  and  the  other, 
the  wife  of  Harvey  Sconce.  Casper  James  Langley  was  born  in  Danville  town- 
ship, February  25,  1835.  His  father  located  in  this  place  in  1830,  coming  from 
Kentucky.  Casper  Langley  was  the  youngest  child  of  a  family  of  four.  He 
lived  on  the  farm  helping  his  mother  after  his  father's  death.  He  was  thir- 
teen years  old  when  his  father  died.  He  was  very  prosperous  and  accumulated 


244  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

much  property  during  his  active  life.  He  married  Miss  Anderson,  from  New 
York  state,  in  1865,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  nine  children. 

James  Juvinall  was  born  in  Pilot  township  in  1835.  He  was  the  son  of 
Andrew  and  Mary  (James)  Juvinall,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1827, 
in  a  prairie  schooner,  from  Ohio.  In  the  school  where  James  Juvinall  had  his 
early  training  the  seats  were  slabs  laid  on  poles  and  there  was  a  long  writing 
desk  made  by  laying  a  plank  upon  wooden  pins  driven  into  the  wall.  Mr.  Juvi- 
nall always  remembered  how  the  Indians  held  meetings  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
where  they  lived.  He  lived  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was  married  in  1858 
and  then  took  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Blount  township.  Here  he 
lived  until  1892,  when  he  moved  to  Danville  and  went  into  the  implement  busi- 
ness. He  then  went  to  Denmark,  where  he  lived  for  a  short  time  and  then 
bought  his  farm,  upon  which  he  settled  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  has 
always  been  an  active  worker  in  the  Methodist  church.  John  R.  Smith  was  born 
where  Fithian  Station  now  stands.  March  i,  1836.  His  father  was  William  W. 
Smith,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Ohio  in  1830.  John  Smith  was 
the  fourth  child  of  his  parents  and  he  lived  at  home  until  after  the  death  of 
his  father,  when  he  went  to  live  with  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas  Armstrong, 
who  lived  near  Rossville.  He  went  to  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  and  to 
this,  he  added  a  term  at  Danville  and  one  at  Knox  College.  He  married  Jose- 
phine Stewart,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  Co.— being  born  at  Danville. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  James  Stewart,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  from 
Connecticut.  Mr.  Smith  ran  a  hotel  in  Rossville  for  three  years,  after  which  he 
had  a  grocery  store  for  many  years.  He  carried  on  this  business  for  many  years 
meanwhile  building  a  large  neat  house  on  a  part  of  the  Stewart  farm  in  which  he 
had  his  home  and  to  which  he  retired  when  his  business  career  was  at  an  end. 
Mrs.  Smith  died  in  1885.  In  1889  Mr.  Smith  married  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Parlow, 
whose  father  was  James  Duncan.  Mr.  Smith  was  the  father  of  five  children, 
four  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Seth  Fairchild  was  born  near  Danville,  Illinois,  October  14,  1836,  the  son 
of  Ormaband  and  Hannah  (Wagnon)  Fairchild.  He  was  twenty-five  years  old 
when  the  war  opened  and  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  and  served  to 
the  time  of  discharge,  September  5,  1864.  He  was  in  several  engagements 
and  otherwise  suffered  the  hardships  of  war  and  when  he  came  home  he  located 
in  Danville.  He  was  employed  to  carry  the  mail  from  Danville  to  East  Lynne 
for  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  moved  to  Potomac  and  carried  the 
mail  between  that  place  and  Danville  for  six  years.  He  then  bought  himself  a 
farm  in  Blount  township,  where  he  continued  to  reside  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
Mr.  Fairchild  married  Miss  Lyon  in  1865  after  his  return  from  the  army.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children.  Mr.  Fairchild  died  on  his  farm,  March 
13,  1886. 

William  Cossairt  was  born  near  the  city  of  Danville,  July  5.  1836.  His  father 
was  David  Cossairt,  who  came  with  his  father,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  Vermilion 
County.  When  William  Cossairt  found  himself  able  he  bought  out  the  other 
heirs  to  the  home  place  and  there  made  his  home  for  life.  This  farm  is  located 
on  section  4,  Middlefork  township,  and  adjoins  Potomac,  making  an  ideal  lo- 
cation for  a  home.  Mr.  Cossairt  married  Louisa  A'.  Smith,  whose  father  came 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  245 

from  England.  Miss  Smith  was  born  in  Vermilion  County,  and  here  grew  to 
womanhood.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  but  two  of  whom 
lived  to  have  families  of  their  own.  Mr.  Cossairt  always  commanded  the  respect 
and  friendship  of  his  neighbors  and  had  their  good  will. 

Robert  A.  Short  was  born  in  Vermilion  County  in  September  14,  1836.  His 
father  was  Thomas  Short  and  his  mother  Nancy  Ann  (Lanham)  Short.  He  was 
one  of  a  family  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  were  born  in  Ver- 
milion County.  John  C.  Short,  the  oldest  of  the  family,  was  a  very  prominent 
citizen  of  Danville  and  the  county  up  to  the  time  of  his  removal  to  New  York 
city.  He  did  much  for  the  development  of  the  resources  of  Vermilion  County, 
and  but  for  misfortune  would  have  remained  in  Danville  and  continued  working 
for  its  progress.  Alexander  C.  Short  married  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Hill  and  after 
living  in  Danville  for  some  years,  moved  to  Los  Gatos,  California. 

Robert  A.  Short  went  to  a  country  school  until  he  was  prepared  to  enter 
the  Danville  Seminary,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1858.  He  first  went 
into  a  drug  store  after  he  left  school,  where  he  remained  twelve  years.  Then 
he  established  the  firm  of  R.  A.  Short  &  Co.,  being  the  senior  member.  This 
firm  handled  the  dry  goods  trade  to  profit  up  to  the  time  Mr.  Short  retired 
in  1893.  Since  this  time  Mr.  Short  has  been  interested  in  real  estate  insur- 
ance and  loan  business,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  residence  in  Evanston  of 
a  short  time,  he  has  been  a  continuous  citizen  of  Vermilion  County  for  seventy 
four  years  and  the  story  of  his  life  would  be  the  story  of  the  life  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Short  married  Miss  Emily  Murdock  in  1838.  They  were  the  parents  of 
six  children,  four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 

George  S.  Cole  was  born  in  Danville,  January  25,  1836.  His  father  was 
Peleg  Cole,  and  was  well  known  in  the  community  for  years.  George  Colt  grew 
to  manhood  in  Danville  and  in  1860  he  married  Elizabeth  Waples,  who  herself 
was  born  in  Vermilion  County.  She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Waples,  an 
early  settler  of  Vermilion  County.  George  Cole  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry  and  served  the  full  term  of  his  enlistment. 

When  he  returned  he  took  up  the  business  interests  which  had  been  his 
care  before  he  went  away.  Mr.  Cole  made  Danville  his  home  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  He  was  the  father  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter.  Two  of  his  sons 
went  west.  His  remaining  son,  Ralph  is  the  popular  and  much  esteemed  coroner 
of  Vermilion  County  at  present. 

Milton  A.  McDonald  was  born  in  Vermilion  County,  the  son  of  Alexan- 
der and  Catherine  (Alexander)  McDonald  November  n,  1826.  Milton  A. 
McDonald  and  his  brothers  and  sisters  went  to  school  at  Georgetown, 
where  his  father  had  moved  for  that  purpose.  Milton  helped  on  the  farm 
when  not  in  school  until  he  was  about  eighteen  years  old,  when  he  began 
clerking  in  his  father's  drug  store  in  Georgetown  and  from  there  he  went  to 
Pontiac,  where  Mr.  McDonald  had  some  land  interests.  Mr.  Milton  McDonald 
married  Miss  Jackson  of  Terre  Haute,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  a  large 
family  of  children,  only  four  or  five  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood and  had  families  of  their  own.  In  1861  Milton  McDonald  came  to  Dan- 
ville and  clerked  in  a  dry  goods  store  for  a  time.  After  a  while  he  set  up  a 


246  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

hardware  establishment  of  his  own  and  he  continued  in  this  business  until  he 
went  to  Dakota. 

John  Brady  was  born  in  Danville  township,  February  i,  1837.  He  was  a  son 
of  John  Brady,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  the  early  days,  and  his  was 
the  common  pioneer  home,  with  the  common  pioneer  hardships.  His  school 
was  the  common  pioneer  school  and  he  had  the  privilege  of  the  times.  When 
the  war  broke  out  Mr.  Brady  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth 
Illinois  Infantry  and  served  until  the  end  of  the  term.  Mr.  Brady  married 
Miss  Mary  Conlin  and  they  were  the  parents  of  four  children. 

John  Brewer  was  born  in  Danville,  July  7,  1837.  His  father  was  William 
Brewer  who  came  to  Danville  early  in  the  thirties.  He  had  the  cabinetmaker's 
trade,  and  had  the  distinction  of  building  the  first  frame  house  in  Danville. 
Mr.  Brewer  was  one  of  seven  children,  six  of  whom  were  boys.  He  lived  at 
home  until  his  father's  death,  after  which  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and 
after  his  marriage  moved  on  the  farm  upon  which  he  spent  his  life.  His  first 
wife  was  Harriet  Kester,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  has  second  wife  was 
Sarah  Oliver,  who  was  born  in  Vermilion  County.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  Oliver,  and  was  the  mother  of  seven  children.  Mr.  Brewer 
is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  his  neighborhood. 

F.  M.  Olehy  was  born  May  3,  1837,  in  Danville  township,  the  son  of  Dennis 
Olehy.  He  was  one  of  a  large  family  and  was  obliged  to  early  help  himself. 
He  lived  in  his  home  neighborhood,  but  after  his  marriage  he  went  to  Warren 
County,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  for  some  time.  In  1868  he  returned  to  Ver- 
milion County,  111.,  and  bought  a  farm  on  section  10,  Danville  township,  where 
he  made  his  home.  Mr.  Olehy  married  Miss  Minerva  J.  Martin,  in  1858,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  four  children. 

Asa  Ankrum  was  born  at  Yankee  Point,  March  10,  1837.  His  father  was 
David  Ankrum,  and  was  an  early  settler  of  that  part  of  the  county.  Asa 
helped  his  father  to  make  a  good  farm,  and  when  he  was  able  to  do  for  him- 
self, he  did  as  well  and  had  a  home  to  be  proud  of.  When  he  died  he  left  a 
competence  for  his  family.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Rhoda  C.  Mendenhall 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  ten  children.  Mr.  Ankrum  died  in  1886. 

Elisha  C.  Fithian  was  born  November  8,  1837,  in  Danville,  the  son  of 
Dr.  Fithian.  He  was  the  youngest  of  three  sons,  and  after  going  to  school 
in  his  childhood  began  farming  for  himself  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives 
when  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  During  his  father's  life  this  son  superin- 
tended the  work  on  this  farm.  Mr.  Fithian  married  Miss  Anna  M.  Hayes  in 
1865,  and  they  had  a  family  of  five  children.  He  has  always  been  a  stanch 
republican,  having  voted  for  Lincoln,  being  acquainted  with  him  through  meet- 
ing him  at  his  father's  house. 

George  Dillon  was  born  in  Georgetown  January  6,  1837.  His  father  was 
Kuke  Dillon,  and  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1830,  from  Ohio,  making  the 
journey  in  a  six-horse  team.  George  Dillon  stayed  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty-one,  helping  first  his  father,  and  when  he  died,  his  mother  in  the  work 
of  the  farm.  He  then  bought  a  farm  near  Georgetown,  where  he  lived  until 
the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  D,  Twenty- 
fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  was  in  many  battles.  June  7,  1864,  he  was  wounded 


HARRISON    FAIRCHILD 


MRS.  H.  FAIRCHILD 


F.  M.  FAIRCHILD      GEORGE  W.  PRATHER     F.  A.  COLLISOX 


JOS  I  AH  SAXDUSKY 


S.  P.  LE  XEVE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  247 

in  the  right  arm  and  sent  to  the  hospital,  and  the  arm  was  taken  off  close  to 
the  shoulder,  and  in  February,  1865,  he  was  sent  home.  Mr.  Dillon  was  a 
strong  republican,  and  his  party  loved  to  honor  him.  He  was  first  elected  town 
clerk  of  Georgetown  township,  and  later  Vermilion  County  selected  him  as 
assessor  and  collector,  and  again  and  again  as  circuit  clerk.  This  office  he  held 
for  a  dozen  years.  He  held  other  offices  from  time  to  time.  Mr.  Dillon  mar- 
ried Miss  Desdemona  Martin,  herself  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County.  She 
was  born  in  Georgetown  in  1841.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Martin  and 
Mary  (Morgan)  Martin,  being  the  granddaughter  of  Achilles  Morgan,  a  man 
active  in  the  making  of  Vermilion  County.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children  who  have  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood  and  married  well  and, 
like  their  parents  and  grandparents  and  yet  another  generation  back,  their 
great  grandfather,  are  well  esteemed  citizens  of  Vermilion  County. 

Mr.  J.  L.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Georgetown  July  27,  1837,  was  an  hon- 
ored pioneer  son  of  Vermilion  County.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Smith,  who 
came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Tennessee.  J.  L.  Smith  married  Mary  Ann 
Cook  in  1861.  She  was  born  in  Ohio.  About  this  time  Mr.  Smith  went  into 
a  pork  packing  house  where  he  showed  his  capacity  for  work.  This  same 
energy  and  industry  made  him  the  success  in  all  he  undertook  to  do. 

Almond  N.  LeNeve  was  born  in  Newell  township  March  9,  1837.  He 
was  a  younger  brother  of  Samuel  P.  LeNeve.  He  left  Vermilion  County  for 
Champaign  County  in  his  twentieth  year,  and  remained  there  until  after  his 
marriage.  He  married  Miss  Nancy  J.  Ford  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children.  He  returned  to  Newell  township,  however,  and  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  on  the  old  home  place.  Mr.  LeNeve  and  his  family  have 
always  been  reckoned  among  the  leading  citizens  of  the  county. 

Francis  Asbury  Collison,  like  his  brother  who  has  been  mentioned,  was 
born  in  Vermilion  County.  The  date  of  his  birth  was  June  25,  1837.  His 
early  life  was  very  like  that  of  his  brother.  He  married  Miss  Nannie  J.  How- 
ard, in  1866.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County,  being  born  in  Pilot 
township  in  1846.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Martin)  How- 
ard, who  came  to  Vermilion  County  a  pioneer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  S.  Collison 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  but  two  of  whom  lived  to  grow  up.  Mr. 
Collison  had  his  start  in  land  by  inheritance  from  his  father,  but  he  has  ac- 
cumulated land  until  he  has  more  than  his  father  died  possessed  of.  He  has 
dealt  in  stock  to  a  great  extent  all  his  life  and  shipped  in  large  numbers.  While 
he  had  some  assistance  when  he  started  in  life,  his  results  are  more  due  to 
effort  and  energy  than  to  anything  else. 

Josiah  Sandusky  was  born  in  Carroll  township  September  n,  1837.  He 
was  the  son  of  Abraham  Sandusky.  The  two  Sandusky  brothers,  Abraham 
and  Isaac,  had  large  families  and  named  the  children  identical  names  so  that 
the  relationship  is  difficult  to  follow.  Josiah  Sandusky  had  his  school  train- 
ing in  the  subscription  schools,  and  after  he  was  a  man  he  was  very  much 
interested  in  matters  of  reading,  so  that  he  gathered  a  large  and  valuable 
library  in  his  home.  He  took  much  pleasure  in  his  library.  At  his  father's 
death  he  inherited  some  land,  to  which  he  added  until  at  his  own  death  he 
owned  about  1,000  acres  of  very  valuable  land  in  eastern  Illinois.  He  remained 


248  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

at  home  until  after  his  father's  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.  After  that  he  went  into  partnership  with  his  brother  Abra- 
ham, and  this  connection  continued  for  many  years.  Josiah  Sandusky  became 
one  of  the  best  known  stock  men  in  the  United  States.  Stock  dealers  would 
come  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  buy  of  him.  Josiah 
Sandusky  was  also  one  of  the  leading  breeders  of  fast  horses,  both  running 
and  trotting  stock.  Mr.  Sandusky  married  Miss  Margaret  Moreland,  a  native 
of  Bourbon  County,  Ky.  Mr.  Sandusky  was  the  father  of  five  children,  all 
of  whom  lived  to  have  families  of  their  own,  except  the  oldest,  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Sandusky  died  February  13,  1901,  and  was  buried  in  the  San- 
dusky cemetery  in  Carroll  township. 

William  Cunningham  was  an  extensive  stock  raiser  of  Newell  township 
and  was  born  December  15,  1838,  in  the  same  township.  He  was  the  son  of 
James  and  Mary  (Andrews)  Cunningham.  He  was  the  third  child  in  a  family 
of  four  children.  He  lived  at  home  on  the  farm  until  he  was  about  eighteen 
years  old,  when  he  went  to  Nebraska,  where  the  breaking  of  prairie  sod  was 
not  as  exciting  as  he  had  thought,  so  he  went  on  to  California.  He  started 
from  Nebraska  to  Pike's  Peak,  in  1859,  and  from  there  went  on  overland  to 
California.  Here  he  mined  and  farmed,  meeting  with  varying  degrees  of  suc- 
cess for  four  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Illinois  with 
$1,200  in  his  pocket.  With  this  he  bought  his  father's  farm  and  made  other 
investments.  He  has  added  to  this  land  from  time  to  time.  He  married  Miss 
Chandler  in  1865,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  seven  living  children.  Mr. 
Cunningham  secured  a  farm  of  large  proportions  worth  at  least  $70  an  acre. 
He  has  made  much  money  in  buying  and  shipping  live  stock  to  Chicago.  He 
has  always  found  pleasure  in  raising  a  fine  breed  of  horses,  and  he  was  ever 
a  good  judge  of  that  animal. 

William  Hester  was  born  in  Vermilion  County  May  17,  1838.  His  father 
was  Thomas  Hester,  who  came  from  North  Carolina,  settling  in  Vermilion 
County  in  March,  1838.  Thomas  Hester  was  attracted  to  this  section  of  the 
country,  doubtless  by  reason  of  the  many  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
who  lived  here  at  that  time.  William  finished  his  education,  as  did  so  many 
of  the  young  people  of  that  society,  in  Bloomingdale  Academy,  under  the  in- 
struction of  Prof.  Hobbs.  William  Hester  taught  school  two  winters,  with 
which  exception  he  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  life.  Mr.  Hester  married  Miss 
Marie  Mills  in  1860.  Her  father  was  Ira  Mills,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County 
in  1821.  She  became  the  mother  of  two  children,  one  only  of  whom  is  living. 
She  died  January  19,  1863.  Mr.  Hester  married  Miss  Rachel  Stafford,  of 
Vermilion  Grove,  for  his  second  wife,  in  1867,  and  she  was  the  mother  of 
three  children,  only  two  of  whom  are  living.  His  second  wife  died,  and  Mr. 
Hester  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  Hawkins,  of  Coles  County,  in  1887.  Mr. 
Hester  made  a  specialty  of  fine  bred  swine  and  short-horn  cattle,  as  well  as 
keeping  sheep  and  graded  horses. 

Samuel  Blair,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  seven  children,  was  born  in  New- 
ell township  December  5,  1838.  He  married  Mill  Mary  M.  Casart,  daughter 
of  Peter  and  Mary  Casart.  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Kentucky. 
Mr.  Blair  owns  a  large  farm,  which  he  improved  and  made  a  specialty  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  249 

short-horn  cattle.  His  place  was  always  noted  for  the  fine  shade  trees,  which, 
it  is  said,  were  noticed,  and  furnished  shade  for  all  travelers  from  Chicago  to 
Cairo  in  the  early  times.  They  were  an  oasis  on  the  bleak  prairies.  Mr.  Blair 
would  carry  produce  to  Chicago  when  he  was  a  young  man  to  market.  Mr. 
Blair  has  always  been  found  to  be  a  public-spirited  man.  Charles  T.  Caraway 
was  born  in  Catlin  township  October  22,  1838.  After  his  youth  had  been 
passed  on  the  farm,  just  as  he  was  choosing  and  making  ready  for  his  life 
work,  the  Civil  war  broke  out  and  he  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
His  regiment  was  the  Thirty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  he  saw  many  battles. 
At  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge  he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  left  leg  and 
was  kept  in  the  hospital  for  nine  months  where  he  suffered  greatly.  General 
Rosecrans  put  his  name  on  the  roll  of  honor  together  with  those  of  some  of 
his  companions,  on  account  of  bravery  and  daring  in  that  engagement  Shortly 
after  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Caraway  married  Miss  Jennie  Dougherty.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  William  Dougherty,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  from 
Ohio. 

William  J.  Davis  was  born  in  Danville  August  i,  1838.  His  father  was 
James  A.  Davis,  who  was  the  first  school  teacher  in  Danville.  William  Davis 
is  the  oldest  of  five  children.  He  went  to  school  to  his  father  in  Newell  town- 
ship, and  afterward  went  to  the  schools  of  Danville  until  he  was  nineteen  years 
old,  when  he  went  as  a  clerk  into  the  store  of  V.  &  P.  LeSeure,  where  he 
remained  a  year.  He  was  next  in  the  employ  of  W.  R.  Gessie  for  six  months, 
and  then  was  appointed  deputy  county  clerk  under  J.  C.  Short,  serving  for 
four  years.  At  that  time  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  under  Capt.  William  Fellows  and  Col.  Harmon.  When 
he  had  served  four  months  he  was  ordered  home  because  of  sickness  from 
exposure.  He  could  not  leave  his  home  for  a  year  after  that  on  account  of 
his  condition.  When  he  had  recovered  he  was  appointed  as  deputy  in  the 
office  of  the  circuit  clerk  who  had  been  county  recorder  when  Mr.  Davis  en- 
listed. He  was  in  the  office  of  the  circuit  clerk  for  four  years,  and  at  the  end 
of  that  time  he  went  into  the  abstract  business  for  five  years,  after  which  he 
was  interested  in  real  estate.  Mr.  Davis  has  been  retired  for  some  time,  being 
in  poor  health.  Mr.  Davis  married  Miss  Baker  in  1863.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  children,  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Their  oldest  son  died 
at  the  age  of  eighteen. 

Perry  Frazier  was  born  in  Georgetown  November  13,  1838.  His  parents 
were  Abner  and  Mary  (Millican)  Frazier.  While  but  a  young  man,  Perry 
Frazier  took  charge  of  the  management  of  his  father's  farm.  During  the  first 
year  he  had  charge  he  raised  fifty  head  of  hogs,  that  being  at  that  time  an 
unheard-of  thing  to  do.  He  married  Miss  Eliza  J.  P.  Patty  when  he  became 
twenty-one  and  then  rented  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
this  part  of  the  country  on  account  of  his  wife's  poor  health.  The  change  did 
not  help  her,  however,  and  in  two  years  she  died  in  Missouri.  When  he  re- 
turned to  Georgetown,  Mr.  Frazier  again  rented  his  father's  farm,  on  which 
he  lived  for  fourteen  years.  Meanwhile  he  married  Miss  Mary  J.  Moore,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  Moore,  who  lived  near  Georgetown.  Mrs.  Fra- 
zier lived  until  1901.  After  her  death  Mr.  Frazier  moved  to  Georgetown. 


250  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

E.  J.  Draper,  more  familiarly  known  as  "Ed"  Draper,  was  born  in  Ver- 
milion County  in  1839.  His  father  was  Jonathan  Draper.  When  the  son  was 
five  years  old  the  family  moved  back  to  Vermont,  where  he  spent  his  youth, 
living  there  until  he  was  nineteen  years  old,  going  to  school  at  Bennington. 
He  came  west  in  1857,  stopping  a  while  at  Sydney.  From  that  time  until  poor 
health  compelled  him  to  retire,  he  was  in  some  way  or  other  interested  in  the 
life  of  a  merchant.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment,  Illinois  Infantry,  Capt.  Fellows  and  Col.  Harmon  in  command.  This 
regiment  saw  hard  service.  When  Mr.  Draper  returned  from  the  war  he 
found  employment  in  the  office  of  J.  C.  Short,  county  clerk.  After  he  went 
into  the  grocery  business  in  Danville,  Mr.  Draper  was  for  eight  years  located 
on  west  Main  street,  but  later  went  on  Vermilion  street.  He  remained  in  that 
location  many  years,  and  the  city  missed  his  store  when  his  health  no  longer 
permitted  him  to  carry  on  the  trade.  Mr.  Draper  was  one  of  the  merchants 
upon  whom  a  community  could  depend,  and  his  going  from  the  ranks  of  mer- 
cantile interests  was  indeed  a  loss  to  the  city.  Mr.  Draper  was  ill  for  a  long 
time  and  died  in  1810,  He  married  Miss  Angeline  Probst.  She  was  a  woman 
of  unusual  helpfulness  of  nature,  and  their  friends  were  legion.  Mrs.  Draper 
is  very  much  loved  by  the  community,  where  she  has  been  such  a  friend  in 
time  of  trouble.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Draper  were  active  in  their  work  in  the  Kim- 
ber  Methodist  church,  where  they  held  membership  from  its  organization. 

Henry  Fletcher  and  his  wife  were  both  born  in  Vermilion  County.  He 
was  born  at  Vermilion  Grove  October  28,  1839.  His  father  was  John  Fletcher, 
a  consistent  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Henry  had  a  good  common 
school  training,  and  afterward  was  under  the  instruction  of  Prof.  Hobbs  in 
Bloomingdale  Academy.  In  1861  Mr.  Fletcher  married  Mahala  Haworth,  the 
daughter  of  Eli  Haworth,  one  of  the  early  settlers.  She  was  born  in  George- 
town October  15,  1842.  She  became  the  mother  of  eight  children,  six  of  whom 
lived  to  maturity.  Mr.  Fletcher  developed  a  fine  farm.  He  always  was  an 
influential  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  was  connected  with  the  order 
of  Modern  Woodmen. 

John  \V.  Fisher  is  the  brother  of  Michael  Fisher,  and  his  younger  days 
were  spent  in  very  much  the  same  way  as  was  his  brother.  He  was  born  in 
Carroll  township.  He  married  Miss  Mary  L.  Dye  in  1861.  He  later  moved 
to  Kansas,  but  tired  of  the  country,  and  came  back  to  Vermilion  County,  where 
he  rented  a  farm  of  his  father,  and  afterward  bought  land  on  which  he  raised 
stock  and  sold  it  in  the  city  markets.  Mr.  John  Fisher  was  the  father  of  eight 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
well  esteemed. 

Priscilla  (McCarty)  Black  was  born  near  Muncie,  Illinois.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  John  McCarty,  who  came  to  Oakwood  township  from  Ohio  a 
short  time  before  her  birth.  She  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Black  in  1858. 
She  was  tfie  mother  of  nine  children. 

Harrison  Fairchild  was  born  in  Blount  township  on  Christmas  day,  1840. 
He  was  one  of  a  large  family  of  children  of  Daniel  Fairchild.  All  of  these 
children  went  to  a  subscription  school  while  they  were  small  and  then  went  to 
Danville  to  the  Danville  Seminary.  Harrison  was  at  school  there  at  the  out- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  251 

break  of  the  Civil  war  and  he  left  his  studies  to  enlist  in  Company  B,  Twenty- 
fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  under  Capt.  Walls.  That  regiment  saw  some  hard  serv- 
ice, and  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  Mr.  Fairchild  was  wounded  in  the  leg. 
He  was  afterward  in  the  charge  of  Missionary  Ridge,  when  he  was  wounded 
in  the  arm  by  a  piece  of  shell.  He  received  his  discharge  at  Springfield  Sep- 
tember 5,  1864.  When  Mr.  Fairchild  returned  to  Blount  township  he  farmed 
near  the  old  homestead.  In  1865  Mr.  Fairchild  married  Miss  Lannam,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  this  county.  Their  family  of  thirteen  children  all  grew  to 
useful  manhood  and  womanhood  but  one.  One  of  their  sons  is  a  preacher, 
and  so  also  is  one  of  the  sons-in-law.  Mrs.  Fairchild  died  in  about  1905,  and 
Mr.  Fairchild  married  Miss  Fannie  Smith,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  early 
settlers.  Mr.  Harrison  Fairchild  has  always  been  a  prominent  member  of  the 
First  Methodist  church. 

Nathaniel  R.  Fairchild  was  born  at  the  home  place  August  15,  1843.  He 
had  a  twin  brother  named  Daniel  who  died  in  the  army.  Mr.  Fairchild  mar- 
ried, in  1869,  Miss  Elizabeth  Fitzgerald,  and  she  died  in  1874.  She  was  the 
mother  of  three  children.  He  then  married  Mrs.  Sarah  Dove,  who  was  born 
in  Vermilion  County  June  n,  1842.  Mr.  Fairchild's  entire  life  has  been  spent 
in  Vermilion  County. 

Francis  M.  Fairchild  was  born  in  Blount  township  April  20,  1848.  He 
was  the  eighth  son  in  the  Fairchild  family.  When  he  was  twenty-two  years 
old  he  married  Miss  Ina  B.  Fitzgerald.  She,  too,  was  born  in  Vermilion 
County.  Her  birthplace  was  but  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  Fairchild  home, 
and  the  young  people  had  always  known  each  other.  She  was  the  mother  of 
fourteen  children.  Only  three  of  these  died  before  they  had  reached  man- 
hood and  womanhood.  Mrs.  Fairchild  died  in  Colorado,  where  she  had  gone 
to  have  her  health  restored,  in  1894.  Mr.  Fairchild  was  again  married  in 
1897,  this  time  to  Miss  White.  She  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  but  they 
all  died  in  infancy.  Like  the  others  of  this  family,  Mr.  Fairchild  was  ever  a 
devoted  Methodist.  He  and  his  brother  were  the  first  of  the  farmers  in  this 
neighborhood  to  tile  their  land  and  redeem  it  from  the  swampy  condition. 

John  W.  Newlon  was  born  in  Blount  township  June  13,  1840.  His  father 
was  Thomas  B.  Newlon,  and  his  mother  was  Miss  Angeline  Griffith,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Stephen  Griffith,  and  widow  of  Mr.  Makemson.  Mr.  Newlon,  the 
father  of  John  Newlon,  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1837  with  his 
father.  The  father  of  John  Newlon's  mother  came  in  1826.  John  Newlon 
was  the  eldest  of  the  seven  children  in  his  father's  family.  In  June  of  1861 
he  reached  his  majority  and  in  July  he  enlisted  in  the  army  in  Company  I, 
Thirty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  and  was  twice  taken  prisoner,  but  both  times  managed  to  elude  the 
vigilance  of  the  captors  and  to  make  his  escape.  When  he  returned  from  the 
army  he  married  Miss  Ivea  Y.  Taylor,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  A.  and  Ivea 
Taylor,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1853  and  located  in  Catlin  township. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  girls  and  one  boy.  In  1888  Mr. 
Newlon  came  to  Danville  and  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  under  J.  C.  Gundy, 
filling  that  office  for  two  years.  In  1890  he  was  elected  sheriff,  and  during  his 
term  the  great  strike  of  the  American  Railway  Union  occurred,  and  at  the 


252  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

same  time  five  thousand  miners  went  out  on  a  strike.  His  handling  of  this 
most  unusual  condition  of  affairs  was  so  well  appreciated  that  when  his  terni 
of  office  was  over  the  people  of  Vermilion  County  elected  him  treasurer  with- 
out opposition.  He  served  four  years  as  treasurer  and  then  became  chief 
deputy  sheriff,  serving  for  three  and  one-half  years  under  James  Sloan.  He 
was  then  appointed  commissary  in  the  Danville  Branch  of  the  National  Home 
for  Disabled  Soldiers  and  Sailors.  Mr.  Newlon  has  always  been  a  stanch 
republican  and  has  faithfully  served  his  party.  In  all  his  service  of  the  public 
there  has  never  been  one  whisper  of  aught  but  the  most  decided  adherence  to 
the  right.  He  has  been  a  public  officer  which  is  a  credit  to  the  county  of 
which  he  is  a  son. 

Isaac  Rees  was  born  near  Vermilion  Grove  on  November  28,  1840.  Ten 
years  before  this,  his  parents  came,  with  twenty-two  others  who  belonged  to 
the  Society  of  Friends,  to  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  Rees  married  Miss  Ara- 
minta  Mills  in  1868,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Hannah  Mills.  She  was  born 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Vermilion  Grove,  and  represents  one  of  the 
best  known  families  in  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Isaac  Rees  were  the 
parents  of  five  children.  Unlike  the  spirit  of  most  Quakers,  Mr.  Rees  en- 
listed in  the  army,  his  loyalty  to  his  country  influencing  him  more  strongly 
than  the  ideas  of  his  religion. 

Henry  F.  Canady  was  born  at  Vermilion  Grove  December  12,  1840.  Like 
the  above-mentioned  son  of  Vermilion  County,  he  did  not  hesitate  when  the 
call  to  arms  came  at  the  time  the  flag  was  fired  upon.  The  fact  that  he  had 
been  trained  to  the  ideas  of  peace,  and  that  those  of  the  society  to  which  he, 
belonged  never  sanctioned  war,  his  answer  to  the  call  by  enlisting  in  the  service 
of  the  country  is  more  noticable.  Mr.  Canady  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-fifth  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  Company  A,  and  was  in  many  engagements.  He  later  served  in 
Company  E,  Twelfth  Kansas  Mounted  Infantry.  Mr.  Candy  mrried  Miss 
Maggie  S.  Brewer,  in  1875.  She  was  the  mother  of  three  children;  but  one  of 
these  lived  to  grow  to  womanhood. 

William  Jasper  Olehy  was  born  in  Danville  township  July  24,  1840.  He 
only  went  to  school  a  short  time,  and  spent  his  youth  on  his  father's  farm. 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth 
Illinois  Infantry  and  served  during  the  entire  term  of  service.  He  married 
Miss  Mary  A.  Olehy  and  they  made  their  home  in  Pilot  township.  They  were 
the  parents  of  but  two  children.  Mrs.  Olehy  died  in  1880. 

Henry  Davis  was  born  in  Vermilion  County  May  5,  1841.  His  life  has 
been  spent  on  a  farm.  He  married  Miss  Cox  for  his  first  wife  and  Rebecca 
Baird  for  his  second  wife.  He  was  the  father  of  three  children.  Mrs.  Re- 
becca (Baird)  Davis  died  in  1883,  and  he  married  Miss  Belle  Pemberton. 

O.  B.  Gravat  was  born  in  Blount  township  June  16,  1841.  He  was  a  hor- 
ticulturist and  first  introduced  fruit  raising  into  Blount  township.  His  father 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  section  and  entered  320  acres  of  land  at  twenty- 
five  cents  per  acre.  This  land  is  worth  more  than  $100  per  acre  today.  When 
he  was  a  boy  he  had  to  go  to  mill  at  Perrysville,  or  Covington,  Indiana,  and 
many  has  been  the  load  of  produce  he  has  hauled  to  Chicago  over  roads  in 
which  there  were  many  sloughs  and  ponds.  When  he  was  twenty-three  years 


JOHN  D.  CAMPBELL 


JOHN  W.  NEWLON 


MRS.    WM.    COSSAIRT 


WILLIAM  COSSAIRT 


WILLIAM   J.   DAVIS 


D.  B.  DOUGLASS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  253 

old  he  was  ordained  as  a  preacher  in  the  Christian  church  and  he  has  preached 
more  or  less,  but  never  has  taken  a  regular  charge.  Mr.  Gravat  was  one  of 
six  children  in  his  father's  family.  It  was  always  a  matter  of  pride  that  Mr. 
Gravat,  the  father,  hauled  the  lumber  to  build  the  first  court  house  in  Dan- 
ville. In  1873,  Mr.  Gravat  married  Sarah  Chenoweth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gravat 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children. 

William  Current  was  born  in  Newell  township  November  27,  1842.  He 
was  one  of  eight  children  and  the  eldest.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  old  he 
left  home  to  do  for  himself.  He  learned  the  trade  of  harnessmaker,  but  did 
not  work  at  it.  When  he  had  his  trade  learned  he  clerked  in  a  dry-goods  store 
for  a  time.  During  that  time  the  Civil  war  was  in  progress,  and  in  1864  he 
could  resist  no  longer  but  enlisted  in  the  Thirty-seventh  Illinois  Infantry,  Com- 
pany K,  under  the  command  of  J.  C.  Black.  After  returning  to  Danville  he 
was  in  the  employ  of  first  the  Wabash  and  then  the  C.  &  E.  I.  Railroad  for 
some  time.  After  he  had  abandoned  the  railroads,  he  went  on  his  father's 
farm  and  took  charge  of  it.  Miss  Margaret  Ellsworth  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Current  and  the  mother  of  three  children.  She  was  one  of  the  daughters 
of  Vermilion  County.  She  died  in  1878.  Mr.  Current  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
Makemson  for  his  second  wife.  She,  too,  was  a  daughter  of  Vermilion  County, 
having  been  born  in  Newell  township  in  1858.  Mr.  Current,  while  living  in 
Danville,  was  city  clerk  for  one  year.  After  going  to  Newell  township  to  live, 
he  was  sent  as  supervisor  of  the  township. 

James  A.  Current,  who  also  was  born  in  Vermilion  County  in  1842,  lived 
in  Newell  township.  When  he  was  married,  he  began  his  new  life  on  the  old 
homestead.  Mr.  Current  married  Miss  Mary  Lynch  in  1859.  They  lived  on 
the  old  homestead  until  1872,  when  he  moved  to  Danville  and  had  a  grocery 
store  and  butcher  shop.  In  1872,  however,  he  moved  back  to  farming  and  has 
continued  it  since  then.  Mr.  Current  was  the  father  of  six  children. 

Thomas  W.  Blakeney  was  the  fourth  child  of  a  large  family  of  children, 
and  was  born  in  Georgetown  township  July  19,  1842.  He  was,  like  the  rest 
of  the  family,  of  great  strength  and  fine  personal  appearance.  He  remained 
about  his  father's  farm  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  enlisted 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  Company  K,  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Cook.  While  in  the  battles  of  Chickamauga  and  Mis- 
sionary Ridge  he  was  slightly  wounded  in  the  thigh,  but  it  was  not  a  serious 
wound.  While  charging  up  Kenesaw  Mountain  he  was  seriously  wounded  and 
always  afterward  carried  the  five  buckshot  in  his  body  that  he  received  that 
day.  He  made  the  famous  march  to  the  sea  with  Sherman,  and  while  at 
Atlanta  he  was  promoted  on  account  of  special  act  of  bravery.  Mr.  Blakeney 
tried  living  in  the  new  west  after  he  came  from  the  army,  but  in  due  time 
came  back  to  Vermilion  County,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home  at  We-- 
ville.  Mr.  Blakeney  married  Miss  Matilda  Brooks  in  1868.  She  was  the 
granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Brooks,  the  early  settler  whose  name  was  given 
the  point  of  land  upon  which  he  settled.  Matilda  Brooks  was  born  at  Brooks 
Point,  in  Vermilion  County,  the  daughter  of  John  Brooks.  She  was  named 
for  her  grandmother  Brooks.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blakeney  were  the  parents  of 
three  children,  but  one  of  which  lived  past  infancy. 


254  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

George  Canaday  was  born  in  Georgetown  township  November  18,  1842. 
He  was  the  son  of  the  pioneer  who  came  to  this  county  early  in  the  thirties. 
He  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  Smith  in  1867.  He  thought  to  better  his  condi- 
tion by  moving  west  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  the  same  year  that  he  was 
married,  and  he  did,  entering  a  good  farm  in  Missouri.  They  lived  on  this 
farm  until  seven  years  afterward,  when  Mrs.  Canaday  became  so  homesick 
they  all  came  back  and  settled  in  Vermilion  County.  At  that  time,  their  family 
included  three  children.  Two  more  children  were  born  after  they  came  back 
to  Vermilion  County,  and  making  the  entire  family  excepting  those  born  in 
Missouri,  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermilion  County. 

November  2,  1842,  Ira  Babb  was  born  in  the  same  house  in  which  he  spent 
his  life.  This  house  was  built  by  his  father  in  1830.  His  life  has  been  spent 
in  general  farming  and  the  manufacture  of  drain  tile.  He  married  Minerva 
E.  Canaday  in  1882.  Mr.  Babb  made  an  interesting  collection  of  old-time 
articles,  including  an  almanac  printed  in  1829. 

John  W.  Giddings  was  born  in  Danville  April  21,  1842.  His  father  and 
mother  were  both  born  and  reared  in  England.  Mr.  Giddings  was  one  of  a 
family  of  eight  children  who  grew  to  maturity.  He  was  the  oldest  son.  He 
remained  in  his  father's  employ  learning  and  practicing  the  trade  of  carriage 
painter,  until  when,  in  1862,  he  went  into  the  service,  enlisting  for  ninety 
days.  After  he  came  home  he  was  sick  for  a  year  but  again  enlisted,  in  1864, 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  serving  until  the  fol- 
lowing fall,  when  his  term  of  enlistment  was  over.  In  1865  he  and  his  brother 
Charles,  and  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Stewart,  formed  a  company  to  carry  on  his 
father's  business.  This  arrangement  continued  for  four  or  five  years,  when 
he  and  his  brother  bought  out  their  brother-in-law,  and  later  he  bought  out 
his  brother  and  assumed  the  entire  management  of  the  business.  He  was  a 
man  of  shrewd  business  ideas  and  his  establishment  was  a  pride  to  Danville. 
Mr.  Giddings  married  Miss  Samantha  A.  McKee,  who  was  born  in  George- 
town. Mrs.  Giddings  is  the  daughter  of  Elijah  Abigail  (Starr)  McKee. 
and  has  the  blood  of  the  pioneers  of  Vermilion  County  in  her  veins  very 
strong.  Her  father  came  to  this  county  in  1838  and  settled  east  of  Danville. 
He  was  a  prominent  citizen,  being  not  only  an  authority  in  his  neighborhood, 
but  had  the  influence  to  be  elected  circuit  clerk  and  holding  the  office  for  eight 
years.  Mrs.  Gidding's  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Absalom  Starr,  who  was 
one  of  the  first  men  to  come  to  Vermilion  County.  The  first  deed  recorded 
in  the  county  was  that  of  the  property  of  Absalom  Starr.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gid- 
dings are  of  the  well  esteemed  citizens  of  Danville  and  live  in  a  handsome 
house  on  Hazel  street.  The  other  sons  of  William  Giddings  all  lived  in  Dan- 
ville the  most  of  their  lives.  Some  years  ago  Mr.  Charles  Giddings  moved  to 
Evanston,  where  their  children  could  be  educated  at  home,  but  the  others  all 
remained  in  Danville. 

William  H.  Newlin  was  born  in  Georgetown  September  4,  1842.  His  father 
came  to  Vermilion  County  in  1832.  He  married  Miss  Henderson,  and  in  this 
way  Mr.  Newlin  is  not  only  the  son  of  one  pioneer,  but  the  grandson  of  an- 
other. His  marriage  with  Miss  Hawes  made  him  yet  more  closely  connected 
to  the  early  settlers  of  this  section.  Mr.  Newlin  was  a  volunteer  in  the  Civil 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  255 

war,  who  had  more  than  his  share  of  the  hardships  of  the  army.  He  enlisted 
in  the  Seventy-third  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was  in  battles  and  was 
captured  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  sent  to  Richmond,  smallpox  breaking 
out  among  the  prisoners.  Mr.  Newlin  became  a  victim  and  was  sent  to  the 
hospital.  It  was  then  that  he  and  five  other  soliders  made  their  escape,  an 
account  of  which  is  very  interesting.  Mr.  Newlin  became  a  merchant  after  he 
returned  to  Georgetown,  and  afterward  held  public  office.  He  married  Miss 
Hawes,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Hawes,  in  1868.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
children. 

William  H.  Mills  and  his  brother  Richard  Mills  were  both  born  in  Ver- 
milion County  and  have  lived  their  lives  here.  They  have  practically  lived  to- 
gether, having  the  same  interests.  William  Mills  was  born  in  Elwood  town- 
ship, February  18,  1843.  He  and  his  brother  Richard,  who  was  two  years 
his  junior,  took  the  management  of  their  home  farm  when  they  were  twelve 
and  ten  years  old.  They  had  great  success,  and  with  all  their  accomplishments 
they  have  been  great  breeders  of  Clydesdale  horses.  William  H.  Mills  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  Woodard  in  1879  and  afterward  went  to  live  on  the  Holiday 
farm,  which  he  had  bought.  The  two  brothers  were  the  joint  owners  of  nearly 
800  acres,  and  farmed  together  under  the  firm  name  of  R.  &  W.  H.  Mills. 
Mr.  Richard  Mills  lives  on  the  old  homestead.  His  mother  is  yet  living  there. 

Samuel  W.  Baum,  the  son  of  the  pioneer,  Samuel  Baum,  and  the  grand- 
son of  Michael  Weaver,  was  born  February  15,  1843.  He  was  the  eighth  in 
a  family  of  eleven  children,  and  the  first  boy.  He  owns  several  farms,  the 
homestead  including  700  acres.  He  has  been  a  "cattle  man  of  renown,"  there 
being  no  better  stock  of  short-horns  to  be  found  than  on  his  farm.  Mr.  Baum 
married  Miss  Delia  F.  Stewart,  who  was  born  in  Georgetown.  She  was  edu- 
cated in  that  place,  coming  to  the  Danville  high  school  when  she  was  sixteen 
years  old. 

Francis  M.  Gundy  was  born  in  Ross  township,  Vermilion  County,  May  7, 
1843.  ^e  ig  a  son  °f  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Davison)  Gundy.  Mr.  Gundy  be- 
longs to  a  family  which  has  been  a  great  factor  in  the  developing  of  Vermilion 
County.  He  married  Mary  E.  Smith,  in  1854.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
children,  two  daughters  and  one  son.  The  son  died  while  yet  young.  Mr. 
Gundy  began  his  experience  as  a  merchant  in  Marshfield,  Indiana.  He  later 
had  an  interest  in  the  store  in  Myersville.  Later  yet  he,  in  partnership  with 
Mr.  A.  M.  Bushnell,  had  a  general  store  in  Bismarck.  He  is  now  the  director 
in  banks  in  which  he  is  interested  and  is  the  president  of  the  one  in  Bismarck. 
He  has  kept  the  old  Gundy  home  place  in  good  shape  and  preserved  the  forest 
trees. 

John  D.  Campbell  was  born  on  section  23,  Newell  township,  June  7,  1843. 
His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Eliza  (Makesmome)  Campbell.  His  grandfather, 
Samuel  Campbell,  was  a  pioneer  of  Vermilion  County,  coming  in  1828,  and 
settled  on  the  farm  on  which  John  Campbell  was  born.  John  Campbell  was 
one  of  a  family  of  five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  was  the 
oldest  son  and  the  second  child.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  terms  of  school 
that  he  taught,  Mr.  Campbell  devoted  his  entire  time  to  farm  work.  In  1869 
John  Campbell  married  Miss  Julia  Howard,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  four 


256  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

children.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Campbell  married  Miss  Mary 
K.  Barger.  She  was  born  in  Newell  township  October  26,  1861.  She  became 
the  mother  of  three  children.  Mr.  Campbell  has  had  a  very  successful  life. 

Charles  Snider  was  born  in  Blount  township  December  15,  1843.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Mary  (Blount)  Snider.  His  grandfather  was  the  man 
for  whom  the  township  was  named.  He  has  been  distinguished  as  being  in- 
terested in  horticulture.  He  was  eighteen  years  old  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  his  country.  He  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Thirty-fifth  Illinois  In- 
fantry, under  Capt.  Timmons  and  Col.  Chandler.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
Mr.  Snider  again  took  up  farming  and  stock  raising.  He  married  Miss  Mar- 
garet Allhands  in  1845.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom, 
excepting  one  son,  died  while  yet  young,  although  only  two  died  in  infancy. 

Joseph  Col  Vance  was  born  in  Oakwood  township  June  2,  1844.  His 
parents  were  John  W.  and  Deziah  (Rathborn)  Vance.  He  was  one  of  a 
family  of  two  children,  his  sister  being  the  wife  of  Samuel  Tilton  of  Catlin. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war  and  has  held  several  offices  during  his  life. 
In  1869  Mr.  Vance  married  Miss  Lydia  E.  Mathewman,  and  they  have  been 
the  parents  of  six  children. 

John  W.  Bandy  was  born  in  Danville  April  8,  1844.  His  father  was  Wil- 
liam Bandy,  one  of  the  prominent  pioneers  of  Vermilion  County,  and  his 
mother  was  the  sister  of  J.  H.  Murphey,  another  pioneer.  Mr.  Bandy  was 
one  of  seven  children  of  William  Bandy.  He  spent  his  first  five  years  on  a 
farm,  after  which  he  always  lived  in  Danville.  He  entered  the  office  of  the 
Danville  Plaindealer,  of  which  Mr.  Leslie  was  then  editor,  and  remained  there 
until  1864.  He  then  went  into  the  office  of  Dr.  Humphreys,  where  he  read 
medicine  and  practiced  a  little.  Mr.  Bandy  afterward  became  a  druggist,  in 
which  business  he  continued  as  long  as  his  health  would  permit,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  retired.  Mr.  Bandy  has  accumulated  much  valuable  prop- 
erty. He  was  married  twice  and  has  one  son.  Of  the  large  family  of  Mr. 
William  Bandy,  Mr.  John  Bandy  and  his  sister  Emma  are  the  only  ones  left. 
Mr.  Bennett  Bandy,  another  brother,  was  a  very  prominent  citizen  of  Dan- 
ville during  many  years  until  his  death  in  about  1904.  The  family  of  children 
were  all  born  in  Vermilion  County. 

Amos  Cook  was  born  in  Vermilion  County,  in  Elwood  township,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1845.  His  father  was  Daniel  Cook,  and  his  mother  was  Hannah  Hes- 
ter, the  daughter  of  Thomas  Hester,  also  a  pioneer  of  eastern  Illinois.  Mr. 
Amos  Cook,  the  son,  married  Maria  Haworth,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  He  never  lived  outside  of  Elwood  township. 

Thomas  Haworth  was  born  in  Elwood  township  July  12,  1845.  He  was 
the  son  of  Joel  Haworth,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  as  early  as  1825. 
Mr.  Haworth  died  July  12,  1885. 

James  Barnett,  another  son  of  Vermilion  County,  was  born  April  i,  1845. 
In  1874  he  married  Miss  Lucinda  Martin.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren. In  1878  they  moved  to  Kansas  on  account  of  the  health  of  Mrs.  Bar- 
nett. After  a  while  the  land  in  Kansas  rose  in  value  and  they  concluded  to 
dispose  of  it  and  return  to  Vermilion  County.  They  have  been  citizens  of 
the  section  ever  since. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  257 

George  Prather  was  born  March  15,  1845,  on  a  farm  in  Ross  township. 
His  father  was  Uriah  Prather.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try. His  term  of  enlistment  was  for  about  one  hundred  days.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  was  mustered  out.  Mr.  Prather  married  Cynthia  A.  Beebe 
in  1887.  They  were  the  parents  of  three  children. 

David  Meade  was  born  in  Newtown,  October  4,  1845.  He  was  the  son 
of  William  Meade  and  the  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Meade.  He  lived  through 
his  youth  in  Oakwood  township,  going  to  school  in  the  schools  of  the  day. 
He  early  became  a  school  teacher  and  taught  in  Oakwood  township  and  in 
Vermilion  County,  Indiana,  through  the  most  of  his  life.  He  taught  school 
in  Eugene,  Indiana,  with  great  success.  He  was  there  in  the  capacity  of  school 
teacher  for  nine  years.  In  1881  he  went  into  the  Danville  schools  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  Douglas  building.  He  remained  in  the  schools  of  that  place  for 
fourteen  years,  a  part  of  this  time  as  principal  of  the  Franklin  school.  The 
year  after  he  was  in  the  Danville  schools  he  was  principal  of  the  township 
high  school  at  Perrysville.  When  he  gave  up  school  teaching,  Mr.  Meade 
took  charge  of  his  farm  northwest  of  Danville.  He  also  has  a  farm  in  Wayne 
County,  Illinois.  Mr.  Meade  married  Miss  Lucy  Hosford  in  1873.  They  are 
the  parents  of  four  children. 

John  Spouls  was  born  February  26,  1845,  on  the  farm  on  which  he  spent 
his  life.  He  was  but  a  baby  when  his  father  fell  from  a  horse  and  met  his 
death.  He  grew  up  on  the  farm,  and  when  he  married  he  and  his  brother 
divided  the  farm  and  he  took  the  south  half.  He  has  increased  his  portion 
from  time  to  time,  making  much  profit  from  feeding  and  selling  fine  cattle. 

Martin  J.  Barger,  at  present  the  governor  of  the  Danville  Branch  of  the 
Home  for  Disabled  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  is  a  son  of  Vermilion  County.  He 
was  born  February  n,  1845,  m  Newell  township.  He  was  the  son  of  William 
J.  Barger.  His  father  died  when  he  was  quite  young,  and  his  mother  mar- 
ried again.  Upon  this  he  left  home  and  apprenticed  himself  to  the  shoemaker's 
trade.  He  did  not  work  at  this  trade,  however.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he 
determined  to  enlist,  although  he  was  but  sixteen  years  old.  He  made  appli- 
cation to  Capt.  McKibben,  but  was  laughed  at.  Nothing  daunted,  he  followed 
the  soldiers  to  Springfield  and  thence  along  until  they  had  reached  Cape  Girar- 
deau.  At  every  place  he  insisted  on  enlisting  and  was  everywhere  laughed  at, 
for  there  were  plenty  of  men  ready  to  go  into  the  service  and  he  was  a  boy, 
who  looked  even  younger  than  he  was.  He  had  attached  himself  to  the  Twen- 
ty-fifth Illinois  regiment  without  enlisting,  and  gone  with  them  as  far  as  For- 
sythe,  Missouri,  where  he  made  one  more  appeal  to  Capt.  Wall  of  Company 
B,  and  was  told  it  was  no  use,  that  he  would  die  in  a  few  days.  He  insisted 
on  following  the  army  whether  they  would  let  him  or  not,  and  they  gave  him 
an  outfit  and  a  suit  of  clothing.  In  about  a  week  the  army  was  in  motion  for 
Batesville,  Arkansas.  The  boy  started  with  them  and  the  first  day  he  kept  up; 
the  second  day  he  did  not  get  into  camp  with  his  command,  and  the  third  day 
did  not  arrive  until  late  at  night,  and  the  fourth  day  he  lost  sight  of  the  army. 
He  had  a  little  money  and  could  get  his  meals  along  the  way  and  make  in- 
quiries of  directions.  He  camped  out  at  night  and  moved  forward  footsore 
and  weary  and  went  into  Batesville  but  a  little  behind  the  army.  When  he  was 


258  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

first  seen  the  cheers  rang  out  long  and  strong.  He  had  not  been  seen  for  a 
week,  and  everyone  thought  him  either  captured  or  dead.  When  the  time  came 
to  pay  off  the  army  he  was  asked  if  he  wanted  pay.  "If  you  think  I  will 
make  a  soldier,"  he  answered.  "O,  you'll  do,"  was  the  answer,  and  the  boy 
was  given  the  payroll  to  sign,  and  he  was  legally  a  soldier.  He  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  and  taken  prisoner.  He  was  held  about  ten  days 
and  then  paroled.  He  was  not  exchanged  until  the  next  summer.  He  re- 
mained with  his  regiment  until  he  was  exchanged,  but  not  doing  duty.  He 
was  discharged  in  March,  1865.  His  wound  was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  in- 
capacitate him  for  hard  work,  and  he  draws  a  pension.  He  has  held  public 
office  often  in  his  life  and  has  been  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Home  since  its 
being  established  here.  When  Governor  Clements  died  and  made  a  vacancy, 
Mr.  Barger  naturally  succeeded  him,  having  been  his  assistant  for  some  time 
previous  to  this  time. 

John  Goodwine,  Jr.,  familiarly  known  as  "Jack,"  was  born  December  2, 
184.8,  on  a  farm  not  far  from  Potomac.  In  December,  1870,  Mr.  Goodwine 
married  Miss  Mary  K.  Alexander,  who  also  was  born  in  Vermilion  County. 
Mrs.  Goodwine  did  not  live  but  two  years  after  her  marriage,  however.  After 
her  death  Mr.  Goodwine  went  west  to  Colorado.  He  returned  and  again  took 
up  his  farm  life.  Mr.  Goodwine  was  married  the  second  time  to  Miss  Lane. 
They  have  been  the  parents  of  a  large  family  of  children,  all  but  one  of  whom 
have  lived  to  grow  to  maturity.  He  had  one  daughter  as  the  child  of  his  first 
wife.  She  became  the  wife  of  L.  D.  Lane,  a  farmer  of  Vermilion  County. 

Thomas  Watson  is  a  son  of  Vermilion  County,  born  February  18,  1846, 
near  Danville,  a  son  of  John  R.  Watson,  who  came  to  this  county  from  Ken- 
tucky in  1829.  Mr.  Watson  married  Miss  Sarah  E.  Adams,  herself  born  in 
Vermilion  County,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Adams.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adams  were 
the  parents  of  five  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  grow  up. 

Mrs.  Julia  (Payton)  Harper  was  born  in  Vance  township,  Vermilion  Coun- 
ty, Illinois,  February  8,  1847.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John  M.  Payton,  and 
she  became  the  wife  of  Albert  Harper  May  29,  1873. 

R.  Bruce  Smith  was  born  in  a  house  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Franklin 
streets,  in  Danville,  December  26,  1847.  He  was  the  son  of  Isaac  P.  Smith. 
He  was  conspicuous  in  different  lines  from  being  a  clerk  in  a  general  store 
or  even  before  that  time,  when  he  sold  the  LaFayette  papers  to  the  citizens 
after  the  10  o'clock  P.  M.  train  came.  He  had  two  well  known  sisters,  one  of 
whom  became  Mrs.  Kane,  and  another  who  became  Mrs.  Crane.  Both  of  them 
were  very  active  in  church  and  social  duties. 

Beriah  Haworth  was  born  in  Vermilion  County,  in  Elwood  township,  Sep- 
tember 15,  1847.  He  was  the  son  of  David  Haworth.  Mr.  Haworth  married 
Miss  Anna  Lewis,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  children.  They  were 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Mr.  Haworth  has  been  a  breeder  of  fine 
horses. 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  (Acree)  Taylor  was  the  daughter  of  Joel  and  Elvessa 
(Yount)  Acree.  She  was  born  in  Catlin  township,  November  12,  1848.  She 
became  the  wife  of  Thomas  A.  Taylor  in  1869.  She  has  been  the  mother  of 


ELIZABETH  McDOXALD  HARMON  SARAH    (( VXXIXGHAM)    DAVIS 


MRS.  E.  E.  VIXSON 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  259 

a  large  family  of  children,  and  ten  of  them  lived  to  maturity.  Mrs.  Taylor 
lives  in  a  beautiful  home  in  Catlin,  with  everything  to  make  life  pleasant. 

Jacob  K.  Robertson  was  the  oldest  of  a  large  family  of  sixteen  children. 
He  was  born  in  Newell  township  September  22,  1848.  He  married  Miss  Me- 
lissa Britingham  of  State  Line,  in  1872.  Her  parents  were  early  settlers  in 
Vermilion  County,  and  she  was  born  in  Pilot  township  November  24,  1848. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 

Mrs.  Emma  (Porter)  McDowell  was  born  in  Carroll  township,  one  and  a 
half  miles  east  of  Indianola,  April  3,  1849.  She  was  the  daughter  of  William 
Porter,  who  came  to  Vermilion  County  from  Kentucky.  Emma  Porter  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  A.  McDowell  in  1869.  At  this  time  Indianola  was 
called  Chillicothe.  Mrs.  McDowell  was  the  mother  of  seven  children. 

This  list  of  elder  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermilion  County  makes  no  pre- 
tensions to  being  complete.  It  would  be  impossible  to  get  a  complete  list,  and 
it  would  not  be  worth  while  to  attempt  it.  Were  the  list  not  limited  to  the 
elder  ones,  it  could  be  very  much  lengthened.  There  are  many  whose  birth 
comes  just  beyond  the  limit  of  1850,  which  has  been  set,  whom  Vermilion 
County  has  shown  a  pleasure  in  honoring  and  whose  lives  have  proven  their 
right  to  such  appreciation.  Charles  A.  Allen,  Samuel  Collison,  William  T. 
Cunningham,  Thomas  Woolverton  and  John  Frazier  have  their  time  of  birth 
in  1850  or  the  nearby  years,  and  all  deserve  mention  as  among  the  elder  sons 
who  have  made  the  county  famous  in  different  ways.  But  the  limit  must  be 
fixed  at  some  point,  and  no  better  date  could  be  chosen,  perhaps,  than  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  beyond  which  the  sons  and  daughters  should 
no  longer  be  considered  as  elder  ones. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
AGRICULTURAL  INTERESTS. 

CATTLE      RAISING HORSE      BREEDING SWINE — FRUIT      GROWING CORN      PRODUC- 
TION  SHEEP    INDUSTRY. 

Vermilion  County  has  been  noted  for  its  farms  and  farming  interests.  The 
southern  part  of  the  county  was  early  settled  by  an  industrious  and  serious- 
minded  people,  and  the  fertile  lands  were  duly  made  into  fine  farms.  The  in- 
troduction of  short-horned  cattle  into  that  section  by  Harvey  Sodowsky  awak- 
ened an  interest  in  the  raising  of  well-bred  stock,  and  gave  an  impetus  to  cattle 
breeding  which  could  not  have  been  secured  otherwise. 

The  Sandusky  family,  which  was  a  large  one  and  in  which  there  was  much 
landed  interest,  all  were  good  stock  men,  and  took  great  pride  in  the  cattle 
they  could  show.  Mr.  Josiah  Sandusky  made  a  specialty  of  showing  stock  at 
fairs,  and  was  almost  always  a  prize  winner.  His  breed  of  cattle  was  the  short- 
horns. Mr.  Sandusky  was  also  a  noted  breeder  of  horses.  His  line  was  road- 
sters and  trotters.  He  had  many  horses  whose  record  was  2 :2O. 

Vermilion  County  has  produced  much  valuable  stock  in  the  line  of  horses, 
both  as  fast-going  animals  and  as  heavy  breeds.  Mr.  Lew  Green  of  Carroll 
township,  is  at  present  the  most  extensive  breeder.  Mr.  Buchanan  of  George- 
town, has  produced  some  nice  horses.  Mr.  Thomas  Bennett  of  Rossville,  was 
at  one  time  an  extensive  breeder  of  horses  which  took  premiums  at  the  state 
fairs.  Mr.  Bennett  was  and  yet  is  a  large  breeder  of  the  Duroc  Jersey  swine. 
His  farm,  near  Rossville,  has  been  the  place  for  years  from  which  this  stock 
goes  to  every  part  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  He  has  done  much  to 
introduce  other  than  the  popular  Poland-China  swine  into  Vermilion  County. 

The  great  prairie  lands  of  a  part  of  Vermilion  County  were  utilized  as 
grazing  lands  for  cattle  until  since  it  was  estimated  that  their  value  per  acre 
was  too  much  to  warrant  such  a  use,  and  the  feeding  of  cattle  to  any  great 
extent  has  passed  from  this  section.  The  Gundy  family  in  Newell  township, 
the  Sanduskys,  and  John  Sidell  together  with  John  Sconce  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  as  well  as  the  Sullivans  in  Sidell  township  at  yet  an  earlier 
day,  and  the  Collisons  in  the  western  part,  all  made  this  industry  a  paying 
business  twenty  years  ago.  Cattle  and  swine  were  bought  in  the  Chicago  mar- 
kets or  from  smaller  farms  and  put  on  pasture  on  the  grassy  plains  and  then 
fed  for  sale  when  their  condition  was  satisfactory. 

260 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  261 

In  the  early  days  the  cattle  and  swine  were  driven  to  market.  And  since 
the  market  was  at  Philadelphia  or  New  York  City,  this  getting  of  the  stock 
so  far  in  good  condition  was  a  task.  There  are  yet  men  who  have  driven  or 
who  knew  men  who  drove  their  stock  as  far  as  these  places.  It  was  not  an 
uncommon  sight  to  see  droves  of  cattle,  or  swine  go  through  the  streets  of 
Danville  on  their  way  through  the  county  to  the  eastern  market.  Later  the 
shipping  was  made  by  the  Wabash  Railroad,  and  the  stock  was  driven  to 
State  Line  from  any  point  west  of  there  to  be  loaded  on  the  cars.  It  was  no 
strange  thing  to  see  Mr.  Andy  Gundy  send  a  trainload  of  swine  on  the 
Wabash  to  New  York  City. 

There  was  much  corn  raised,  and  it  was  more  profitable  to  feed  this  corn 
and  sell  the  finished  product  than  to  sell  the  corn  itself.  But  that  period  of 
the  history  of  Vermilion  County  is  long  since  passed.  It  is  only  here  and  there 
that  the  value  of  stock  raising  is  appreciated,  and  the  land  is  urged  to  go  to 
its  limit  in  grain  production  without  the  help  it  should  have  from  the  addi- 
tion of  stock. 

The  poultry  interest  finds  many  enthusiasts  in  the  county.  A  poultry  as- 
sociation is  sustained  and  the  annual  meeting  in  January  brings  out  a  crowd. 
Among  the  fanciers  are  to  be  numbered  O.  L.  McCord,  Mr.  Russel,  Mr.  John- 
son, Dr.  Jones  of  Sidell,  and  others  so  numerous  as  to  forbid  mention.  Catlin 
township  has  been  prolific  in  producing  poultry  men.  The  state  poultry  show 
has  met  in  Danville  several  times.  While  the  breeder  of  fancy  poultry  has 
been  much  in  evidence,  the  influence  of  his  care  has  had  its  effect  on  the 
farmer  and  small  breeder  of  poultry  to  the  extent  of  raising  the  standard 
throughout  the  county.  The  flocks  of  poor  bred  poultry  so  prevalent  even  ten 
and  fifteen  years  ago,  have  disappeared,  and  well  selected  well  culled  fowl  are 
to  be  seen  along  the  highways  or  in  the  enclosures  of  the  farms  of  the  county. 

As  much  cannot  be  said  of  fruit  growing  in  Vermilion  County  as  of  stock 
raising.  Much  more  interest  might  be  taken  in  this  branch  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits to  an  advantage  to  the  county.  Most  of  the  farm  homes  have  some  at- 
tempt to  having  a  few  trees,  from  which  fruit  for  the  use  of  the  family  can 
be  gathered,  but  there  is  little  effort  to  make  this  branch  one  of  profit. 

In  1860,  W.  W.  Littell  came  to  Oakwood  township  from  Middletown, 
Ohio.  He  brought  about  a  half  bushel  of  peach  seed  with  him  and  planted 
them.  The  next  year  he  had  a  great  many  little  trees,  which  he  gave  away. 
People  came  from  miles  around,  and  he  gave  them  the  trees.  For  a  long  time 
the  results  of  his  coming  to  Vermilion  County  were  very  evident.  There  was 
a  great  quantity  of  peaches  raised  in  the  neighborhood,  and  all  the  peach  or- 
chards are  not  yet  gone.  Mr.  Nesbitt,  living  near  Catlin,  is  at  present  the  most 
extensive  fruit  grower  in  the  county. 

CORN     PRODUCTION     IN    VERMILION    COUNTY. 

[Contributed  by  Harvey  Sconce.] 

The  word  "corn"  has  been  in  use  from  earliest  times.  At  first  it  signified 
a  grain,  as  we  use  the  term  today  when  speaking  of  a  single  kernel,  seed  or 
particle.  Later  the  name  was  applied  to  all  cereal  crops  in  general,  and  in 


262  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Europe  this  custom  still  prevails.  It  was  not  until  during  the  early  coloniza- 
tion of  America  that  the  name  "corn"  was  legally  accepted  in  its  present  ap- 
plication. In  one  of  the  counties  of  Pennsylvania  a  man  had  been  indicted  for 
stealing  so  many  bushels  of  corn,  and  in  course  of  the  conflict  his  counsel  took 
exception  to  the  word  as  it  was  used,  on  the  ground  that  this  was  not  the  per- 
fect description  of  Indian  corn.  The  exception,  however,  was  overruled  by 
court,  who  thus  decided  that  corn  was  the  established  name  for  Indian  corn. 
The  old  name  maize  is  still  used  to  some  extent.  It  is  a  later  construction  from 
ma-his,  a  Haytian  word.  We  also  find  the  term  "Indian  corn"  used  consid- 
erably, even  in  the  present  day. 

Some  authorities  claim  that  corn  is  of  eastern  origin,  and  to  substantiate 
this  statement  they  have  attempted  to  show  that  the  cereal,  was  mentioned  in 
ancient  Chinese  literature  before  Columbus  discovered  America.  Some  of  our 
most  eminent  botanists,  however,  have  very  successfully  refuted  this  argument, 
and  they  have  been  able  to  show  conclusively  that  America  is  the  original  home 
of  corn.  Traditions  have  it  that  as  early  as  the  year  1002  A.  D.  Karlsefn,  and 
again  in  1006  Thorfin,  both  Norsemen,  each  saw  and  brought  home  in  their 
ships  ears  of  corn  from  what  is  now  Massachusetts.  But  stronger  evidence  is 
presented  in  the  ears  of  corn  which  have  been  found  with  mummies  of  Mexico 
and  Peru.  We  know,  too,  that  Columbus  discovered  corn  when  he  first  landed 
on  American  soil. 

As  to  the  distribution  of  corn  in  Europe,  it  is  claimed  by  good  authority  that 
Columbus  took  it  back  to  Spain  with  him  on  the  return  from  his  great  voyage. 
From  Spain  it  was  taken  into  France  and  Italy,  although  we  know  that  its 
spread  must  have  been  very  slow,  for  it  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  the 
discovery  of  America  before  we  find  any  mention  made  of  corn  in  France. 
From  Italy  corn  was  taken  into  Switzerland  and  Hungary,  and  from  Hungary 
to  Austria  and  eastern  Europe.  From  Switzerland  it  was  taken  into  the  valley 
of  the  Rhine,  and  from  Portugal  corn  was  taken  into  Asia. 

Indian  corn  entered  into  the  mythological  and  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
Indians,  both  of  North  and  South  America,  long  before  they  were  disturbed 
by  civilization.  When  the  white  men  came  to  live  among  them,  they  told 
them  how  to  select  the  best  ears  for  seed  and  how  and  when  to  plant  it.  To 
be  sure  their  methods  were  very  crude;  since  the  land  was  covered  by  a  dense 
forest,  it  was  necessary  first  that  this  should  be  cleared  away.  When  spring 
came  the  squaw,  who  did  most  of  the  work,  proceeded  to  plant  the  corn.  With 
a  sharp  stick  she  made  holes  in  the  ground  about  four  feet  apart,  and  after 
putting  a  fish  or  several  crawfish  into  each  hole,  she  planted  the  seed  on  top 
of  this  and  covered  it  with  soil.  The  fish  were  used  as  fertilizer.  In  the  fall 
the  corn  was  picked  and  stored  away  in  pits  dug  in  the  ground.  Such,  then, 
were  the  methods  adopted  we  are  led  to  believe  by  our  forefathers  when  they 
began  farming  on  our  native  soil. 

The  first  successful  attempt  of  the  English  to  cultivate  corn  in  North  Amer- 
ica was  in  1608,  along  the  James  river,  in  Virginia.  A  year  or  two  later  it 
was  said  that  as  much  as  thirty  acres  of  corn  were  cultivated  there.  It  is  re- 
corded that  as  early  as  1650  corn,  to  the  extent  of  600  bushels,  was  exported 
from  Savannah,  and  in  1770  the  amount  exported  from  this  same  place  had 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  263 

reached  13,598  bushels.  However,  during  the  period  intervening  numerous  ex- 
portations  were  recorded,  ranging  from  10,000  to  250,000  bushels,  so  we  know 
that  even  at  this  early  date,  more  corn  was  raised  than  was  needed  for  home 
consumption.  In  1770  the  total  amount  exported  from  the  colonies  was  578- 
349  bushels,  and  in  1800  2,032,435  bushels  were  exported.  By  this  we  see 
that  the  development  during  this  period  was  very  rapid,  at  least  that  consider- 
ing the  fact  that  agricultural  implements  were  little  known,  and  that  there 
were  no  transportation  facilities  to  speak  of.  The  main  increase  in  production 
was  the  result  of  increased  acreage. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  corn  plant  itself,  some  botanists  have  endeavored  to 
show  that  Teosinte,  a  rank  growing  forage  plant,  is  its  progenitor.  Teosinte 
is  a  native  Mexican  plant,  and  is  called  by  Watson  "Zea  canina."  Recently 
Montgomery  has  expressed  a  similar  theory.  He  states  that  corn  and  Teosinte 
may  have  had  a  common  origin,  and  he  intimates  that  in  the  process  of  evolu- 
tion it  is  probable  that  the  pistillate  spikes  in  Teosinte  were  developed  from 
the  lateral  branches  of  a  tassel-like  structure,  while  corn  was  developed  from 
the  central  spike.  Further,  he  suggests  that  the  progenitor  of  these  plants  was 
a  large  much-branched  grass,  each  branch  being  terminated  by  a  tassel-like 
structure. 

From  the  natural  characteristics  of  the  corn  plant  we  may  safely  conclude 
that  the  distribution  of  the  species  was  necessarily  of  an  artificial  nature,  for 
the  seed  has  no  wing  or  appendage,  which  would  permit  it  to  be  blown  about 
by  the  wind.  Furthermore,  the  perishable  nature  of  the  seed  was  directly  op- 
posed to  nature's  methods  of  scattering  the  species.  It  seems  safe  to  assume 
that  the  species  that  exist  today  have  either  been  developed  by  man  and  per- 
petuated by  this  same  agency  or  that  man  came  upon  the  plant  soon  after  its 
useful  development,  and  at  once  began  to  cultivate  it.  There  are  at  present 
eight  species  of  the  genus  Zeas. 

In  1814  there  were  only  five  varieties  of  corn  (Zea  Mays)  known,  j.  e., 
Big  Yellow,  Big  White,  Little  Yellow,  Little  White  and  Gourdseed.  Both  the 
large  and  small  varieties  were  flinty,  corresponding  to  the  old  type  of  flint  corn. 
The  gourd-seed  corn  represents  perhaps  the  first  step  in  the  development  of 
the  dent  corn  of  today.  It  was  characterized  by  a  deep  pointed  soft  kernel  of 
either  white  or  yellow  color.  By  1840  nearly  forty  varieties  were  known. 
These  were  based  primarily  upon  color,  size  of  ear,  and  density  of  kernel.  At 
least  one  of  our  present  standard  breeds  had  its  origin  previous  to  that  time,  and 
others  soon  followed. 

Corn  production  in  Vermilion  County  was  possibly  first  practiced  by  the 
Indians,  but  it  is  surely  correct  that  the  first  white  settlers  that  came  to  this 
county  brought  with  them  some  of  the  improved  types  of  corn  that  were  being" 
raised  in  the  states  from  which  they  moved.  During  the  earliest  days,  about 
all  the  corn  produced  was  for  home  consumption,  and  for  feeding  livestock,  as 
there  were  at  that  time  no  means  of  transportation,  but  as  the  years  went  by 
and  civilization  began  to  make  its  advance  beyond  the  Wabash  river,  then  there 
were  great  quantities  of  corn  raised,  and  either  hauled  to  Eugene  and  Perrys- 
ville  and  put  aboard  boats,  or  fed  to  livestock  and  the  animals  driven  on  foot 


264  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

to  these  markets  and  sold.  They  were  then  shipped  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers  and  to  the  larger  markets  for  export. 

About  this  time  the  great  possibilities  of  the  eastern  and  central  parts  of 
Illinois,  including  Vermilion  County,  for  the  production  of  corn  and  livestock 
became  apparent  to  the  financial  interests  of  the  east,  and  within  a  few  years 
new  lines  of  transportation  were  brought  to  this  country,  in  the  form  of  the 
Wabash  and  Illinois  Central  railroads.  This  meant  a  new  market,  better  prices, 
and  consequently  a  larger  acreage  along  the  new  lines  of  railroads,  and  the 
corn  production  was  greatly  increased  during  this  period. 

The  country  was  what  is  termed  raw  prairie.  This  meant  miles  and  miles 
of  swamps  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  wild  grass,  and  at  this  time  there 
was  no  drainage  at  all,  therefore  only  the  higher  portions  of  the  fields  were 
farmed.  These  swamps  and  wild  prairies  were  the  homes  of  countless  thou- 
sands of  wild  fowl,  such  as  geese,  ducks,  prairie  chickens  and  others,  and  while 
they  furnished  food  for  the  families,  still  they  did  a  great  amount  of  damage 
to  the  growing  crops.  The  geese  would  pull  up  the  young  wheat  and  oats  in 
the  spring,  while  the  prairie  chickens  would  scratch  out  the  corn  planted  in 
May  and  June,  injuring  the  stand  in  the  field,  and  these  pests  with  the  ad- 
verse weather  conditions,  poor  farming  implements  and  with  the  undrained 
soil,  made  corn  production  anything  but  a  pleasure. 

Not  before  1850  were  any  distinctive  types  of  corn  produced,  nor  was  any 
thought  given  to  establish  a  breed  of  corn,  as  was  practiced  in  livestock,  and 
not  until  1893  was  it  found  to  be  possible  to  breed  corn  on  scientific  lines,  and 
to  get  results  that  were  anticipated.  From  1850  to  1900  the  farmers  of  Ver- 
milion County  were  very  extensively  engaged  in  livestock  farming,  consequently 
raised  a  greater  percentage  of  yellow  corn  than  white,  as  the  yellow  varieties 
were  preferred  for  feeding  cattle  and  other  livestock,  as  most  varieties  of  yel- 
low corn  contain  a  higher  percentage  of  protein,  the  muscle-building  and  fat- 
tening constituent  of  the  kernel.  Some  very  superior  varieties  of  yellow  corn 
were  developed  during  this  period,  in  this  and  adjoining  counties  and  states, 
such  as  Reid's  Yellow  Dent,  Learning,  Riley's  Favorite,  Golden  Eagle,  Legal 
Tender,  Cattle  King  and  others,  while  the  white  varieties  that  were  developed 
along  with  the  yellow  varieties,  were  Boone  County  White,  Silvermine,  White 
Superior,  Silver  King  and  others.  The  white  varieties  have  received  in  the 
last  ten  years  more  attention  than  in  all  the  preceding  years;  as  with  the  de- 
cline of  the  cattle  industry  in  the  corn  belt,  simultaneously  was  the  decline  in 
the  production  of  yellow  corn,  and  at  the  present  time  75  per  cent  of  all  the 
corn  produced  in  the  corn  belt  is  white  corn. 

To  show  with  what  persistent  efforts  some  of  our  forefathers  toiled  with 
this  plant,  an  extract  from  an  account  of  an  old  settler  will  suffice:  "We  began 
to  breed  this  corn  a  short  time  after  my  father  brought  the  seed  from  Kentucky 
in  1848.  I  used  the  best  ears  that  I  could  find  in  the  field  in  the  fall  by  going 
through  and  selecting  the  earliest  and  best-shaped  ears  free  from  mixed  grains 
and  at  the  same  time  being  careful  to  get  ears  that  grew  out  and  down  from 
the  stalk,  so  as  to  turn  the  water  out  of  the  ears,  as  you  will  know  all  ears 
that  grow  straight  up  with  the  stalk  are  filled  at  the  butt  in  the  fall  with 
water  and  spoiled,  and  also  very  hard  to  shuck,  and  never  grow  even  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  265 

stalk.  I  will  say  that  it  took  me  ten  years  to  get  the  corn  to  send  out  ears  at 
an  even  height  and  to  grow  on  a  small  shank  with  just  enough  husk  to  cover 
the  corn  and  no  more.  I  was  fifteen  years  getting  rid  of  the  red  ears,  and  some- 
what longer  in  getting  rid  of  white  cobs.  We  make  our  selection  of  seed  in 
the  fall  as  we  gather,  so  we  can  get  the  best  ears  from  the  stoutest  stalks,  the 
proper  height  from  the  ground,  and  also  those  not  having  too  much  shuck." 

If  more  of  our  farmers  of  the  county  would  pay  the  attention  to  their  corn 
crops  that  this  man  did,  the  advancement  and  resulting  profits  would  have 
been  greater.  It  was  the  common  practice  years  ago  and  in  a  few  cases  is 
still  being  followed,  that  the  corn  field  was  the  same  year  after  year, 
as  it  was  thought  that  these  soils  were  inexhaustible.  I  have  been  told  by  men 
of  mature  years  that  the  fields  of  this  county  were  planted  to  corn  for  a  period 
of  forty  consecutive  years,  to  their  knowledge.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  at  the 
present  time  the  general  average  of  the  corn  belt  is  so  low?  These  fields  are 
being  put  into  a  general  rotation  with  oats  and  clover  and  are  beginning  to  give 
better  results. 

It  is  now  about  fourteen  years  since  investigations  with  a  view  to  the  im- 
provement of  corn  by  breeding  began,  but  before  entering  into  an  explanation 
of  the  scientific  part  of  corn  breeding  as  practiced  by  a  few  in  Vermilion 
County  and  the  state  as  well,  it  would  be  advisable  to  mention  some  of  the 
important  elements  that  go  to  make  up  the  structure  of  the  corn  plant,  assist 
in  its  growth,  and  the  elements  of  plant  food  that  enter  into  the  consruction 
of  the  perfect  stalk  and  ear  of  corn. 

The  structure  of  the  body  of  the  corn  plant  (Zea  Identata)  the  corn  of  the 
corn  belt  and  the  corn  of  commerce,  is  composed  of  many  minute  cells.  These 
cells  vary  in  shape  and  size  in  different  parts  of  the  same  plant,  and  in  different 
plants.  The  cell  is  filled  with  a  living  material  called  protoplasm.  The  greater 
part  of  protoplasm  is  cytoplasm,  a  colorless  material  of  granular  character.  In 
addition  to  the  cytoplasm,  the  nucleus  or  governing  portion  of  the  protoplasm 
is  generally  located  in  the  center  of  the  cell.  Xucleoplasm  forms  the  major 
part  of  the  nucleus,  although  the  vital  principle  contained  therein  is  the  chro- 
matin.  Cells  multiply,  that  is,  development  takes  place  at  the  growing  point,  by 
the  process  of  cell  division.  Cellulose,  a  firmer  material,  constitutes  the  cell 
wall,  which  is  usually  very  thin.  Root  growth  takes  place  at  a  point  just  back 
of  the  cap,  known  as  the  growing  point.  The  tip,  which  is  pushed  through  the 
soil  by  the  constant  addition  of  cells  at  the  growing  point,  is  made  up  of  harder 
cells  and  acts  as  a  protection  to  that  point.  As  it  wears  away,  new  cells  are 
supplied  from  behind  by  the  growing  point. 

Corn,  which  is  merely  a  giant  form  of  grass,  has  a  fine,  fibrous  root  system 
like  all  members  of  the  grass  family.  The  root  system  is  not  characterized  by 
any  tap  root  such  as  is  found  in  clover.  In  the  early  stages  the  roots  develop 
laterally.  Thirty  days  after  planting,  the  roots  from  adjacent  stalks  meet  and 
interlace,  and  most  of  the  roots  will  be  found  within  the  first  eight  inches  of 
the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  very  few  will  be  found  to  have  penetrated  to  the 
depth  of  twelve  inches.  Six  inches  from  the  hill  the  main  roots  will  be  found 
at  a  depth  of  2^2  inches,  while  midway  between  the  hills  they  will  be  found 
only  414  inches  from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  latter  point  should  be  es- 


266  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

pecially  noted,  for  it  is  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  shallow  cultivation.  It 
is  a  known  fact  that  about  from  fifty  to  sixty  days  after  planting,  or  the  last 
cultivation,  the  roots  have  spread  three  and  one-half  feet  from  the  stalk  each 
way,  and  to  a  depth  of  two  feet,  and  form  a  complete  network  of  roots  all 
over  the  field.  The  secondary  root  appears  about  the  time  of  "laying  by," 
the  time  when  the  summer  winds  begin  to  jostle  the  corn  plants.  In  trying  to 
support  themselves,  these  roots  are  sent  out. 

These  roots  usually  appear  on  the  first  and  second  nodes  above  ground,  and 
they  act  as  guys  and  stays,  and  from  22  to  28  appear  at  each  node.  If  the 
weather  is  stormy  and  the  corn  has  a  tendency  to  blow  over,  these  roots  grow 
very  rapidly. 

We  will  pass  over  the  structure  of  the  plant,  as  a  whole,  the  stalk  leaves, 
and  leaf  development,  and  take  up  the  flower  or  tassel  part  of  the  plant.  Corn 
is  a  monecious  plant,  that  is,  having  both  male  and  female  flowers  on  the  same 
plant  but  in  different  places.  From  a  botanical  point  of  view,  the  words  male 
and  female,  as  applied  to  plants,  are  incorrect  and  should  be  called  staminate 
and  pistillate  flowers,  but  we  will  use  the  first  terms,  as  they  seem  to  convey 
a  more  direct  meaning. 

The  time  of  blossoming  depends  upon  the  time  of  planting,  early  or  late 
varieties,  seasonal  influences  and  soil  conditions.  The  male  flowers  are  found 
in  the  tassels,  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  panicle.  There  are  two  single  flowers 
in  each  spikelet,  while  each  single  flower  has  its  own  set  of  inner  bracts.  Each 
flower  has  three  stamens  mounted  on  filaments  that,  as  the  pollen  matures, 
lengthen  and  push  out  the  polles  sacks  or  anthers  to  be  caught  in  the  breeze. 
The  anthers  split  along  one  side  allowing  the  pollen  grains  to  fall  out  and  be 
wafted  to  other  stalks,  where  they  find  lodgment  on  the  silks  of  ears  other  than 
their  own.  These  pollen  grains  are  very  small  and  buoyant,  and  each  tassel 
contains  from  25,000,000  to  50,000,000.  This  excess  of  pollen  is  necessary  be- 
cause of  the  loss  of  so  many  grains  which  are  lodged  about  the  stalk  and  which 
fall  to  the  ground. 

The  female  or  pistillate  flowers  are  borne  on  a  hardened  spike  or  cob,  which 
is  produced  on  a  branch  coming  from  a  node  on  the  main  stem.  At  first  the 
leaf  sheath  covers  and  protects  the  outgrowth,  but  it  soon  appears  above  the 
sheath  and  the  corn  is  said  to  be  shooting.  In  a  short  time  the  husks  open  at 
the  end  and  the  silks  appear.  The  outer  end  of  each  silk  is  often  split,  and 
is  covered  with  very  short  hairs,  which,  together  with  a  sticky  or  mucilaginous 
secretion  present,  aids  in  collecting  pollen  grains.  The  remainder  of  the  silk 
to  its  attachment  is  tubular  and  is  attached  to  the  summit  of  the  ovary  or 
kernel,  which  is  held  in  two  sets  of  bracts  and  encloses  within  its  walls  a  single 
ovule.  There  is  but  one  silk  for  every  ovary,  and  there  are  from  800  to  1,200 
ovaries  on  each  spike  or  cob. 

Corn  is  a  cross  pollinated  plant.  Nature,  in  her  effort  to  accomplish  this, 
sends  out  the  tassels  as  many  as  seven  days  before  the  silks  appear  on  the 
shoot  below.  This  character  is  taken  advantage  of  in  mating  ears  in  the  breed- 
ing block.  When  a  pollen  grain  falls  upon  the  stigma  of  a  silk,  the  moisture 
there  present,  and  the  heat  of  the  summer,  causes  it  to  germinate.  The  con- 
tained nuclei  of  the  germinated  pollen  grain  passes  down  through  the  canals 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  267 

that  form  the  center  of  the  silk  to  the  base  or  place  of  attachment  on  the  cob, 
and  there  fertilization  takes  place  and  the  foundation  for  the  new  kernel  is 
formed.  The  silks  at  the  butt  of  the  ear  are  the  first  to  appear,  and  the  first 
as  a  rule  to  be  pollinated,  while  the  tip  kernels  are  the  last  to  be  fertilized, 
consequently  the  complete  fertilization  of  the  tip  kernels  of  the  ear  depends  on 
the  continuance  of  good  weather,  and  the  late  tasseling  of  nearby  stalks  in 
the  same  field.  Warm,  balmy  weather  with  a  slight  breeze  is  ideal  for  the 
transfer  of  corn  pollen.  Dashing  rains  at  this  season  of  the  year  wash  the 
pollen  from  the  tassel  and  a  moist  atmosphere  prevents  the  grains  from  floating 
about.  The  developing  kernel  is  fed  from  within  the  cob  by  a  single  duct  that 
passes,  in  its  course  through  the  cob,  between  the  soft  white  cellular  pith  and 
the  woody  portion,  and  enters  a  passageway  through  this  woody  portion  to 
the  base  of  the  kernel. 

The  first  period  of  growth  of  the  kernel  includes  what  is  commonly  referred 
to  as  the  milk  stage.  Kernels  in  the  milk  are  very  sweet,  due  to  the  presence 
of  sugar,  which  has  not  yet  been  transformed  into  storage  starch.  The  protein, 
ash  and  oil  are  deposited  in  the  germ  before  the  endosperm  or  body  of  the 
kernel  is  filled  out.  Later  the  endosperm  surrounding  the  germ  is  packed  full 
of  starch.  Much  of  this  material  has  been  held  in  readiness  in  the  stalk  and 
is  now  deposited  in  the  grain.  The  entire  kernel  is  covered  by  a  thin  mem- 
branous layer  called  the  tegmen,  overlain  by  a  tough  coat  called  testa.  This 
union  forms  what  is  termed  the  bran  of  wheat,  and  the  hull  of  corn. 

Germination  is  the  resumption  of  growth  of  the  young  plant  which  lies 
within  the  seed.  This  young  plant  is  the  embryo  or  germ.  The  portion  which 
is  to  produce  the  stem  and  the  leaves  lies  toward  the  crown  of  the  kernel,  and 
is  called  the  plumule.  The  portion  which  is  the  first  root,  lies  toward  the  tip 
of  the  kernel  and  is  called  the  radicle.  The  conditions  of  germination  are : 
first,  vitality ;  second,  moisture ;  third,  proper  temperature,  and  fourth,  oxygen. 
Take  away  any  one  of  these  four  factors,  and  life  will  not  awake  from  its 
slumber.  The  vitality  of  the  kernels  of  corn  is  ruined  by  continued  freezing 
or  excessively  high  temperature.  However,  if  corn  has  been  thoroughly  dried 
out  before  freezing  weather  arrives,  then  the  germ  of  the  kernel  will  not  be 
injured  by  any  amount  of  freezing. 

Moisture  in  plants  has  four  distinct  functions  in  germination.  It  softens 
the  covering  of  the  seed,  penetrates  the  minute  cells  of  the  seed  coat,  enters 
the  large  cells  within,  and  by  swelling  them  causes  the  entire  seed  to  increase 
in  size  and  ruptures  the  seed  covering.  Kernels  of  corn  placed  in  water  at  a 
temperature  of  70  degrees  F.  will  absorb  15  per  cent  of  their  original  weight 
in  52  hours.  Kernels  of  corn  having  a  large  amount  of  flinty  starch  and  horny 
gluten  which  acts  as  a  sealing  wax,  require  more  time  for  germination  than 
corn  of  a  softer  nature,  and  this  accounts  for  the  rotting  of  immature  kernels 
when  placed  in  the  ground  early  in  the  spring,  at  which  time  it  is  cold  and  wet. 

Moisture  dissolves  plant  food  and  carries  it  to  the  growing  embryo.  A 
continual  supply  of  available  nutriment  is  demanded  by  the  young  plant,  and 
the  presence  of  water  insures  its  transportation  to  every  growing  point. 

Moisture  also  aids  in  the  chemical  and  biological  changes.  By  experiments, 
it  has  been  determined  that  corn  will  germinate  as  low  as  48  degrees  F.,  and 


268  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

in  as  high  a  temperature  as  115  degrees,  but  the  optimum  temperature  is  93. 
Duting  the  month  of  May  and  the  last  two  weeks  of  April,  of  1907  and  1908, 
the  writer  took  the  temperature  of  the  ground  three  inches  under  the  surface 
at  2  o'clock  every  afternoon,  for  the  planting  and  germinating  period  of  corn, 
and  found  the  temperature  in  1907  to  be  68  degrees,  while  the  following  year, 
1908,  the  temperature  was  74.1  degrees,  as  an  average  of  the  six  weeks.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  percentage  of  stand  in  1907  was  very  low,  while 
in  1908  it  was  just  the  reverse,  and  the  excessively  low  temperature  was  the 
cause  of  so  much  corn  rotting  in  the  ground  before  it  became  warm  enough  to 
cause  germination.  Cold,  wet,  mucky  soils  which  exclude  the  warmer  surface 
air,  produce  a  weak  plant  and  feeble  advancement. 

Oxygen  is  present  in  the  seed,  both  in  a  free  and  a  combined  state ;  but  this 
supply  is  insufficient  for  germination.  The  inhalation  of  this  vital  element  is 
followed  by  the  oxidation  of  the  constituents  stored  in  the  seed  and  a  conse- 
quent evolution  of  energy.  With  the  intaking  of  oxygen  there  is  a  comparable 
outgoing  of  carbon  dioxide  gas.  The  principle  upon  which  the  tilling  of  the 
snil  lies,  is  in  the  assistance  of  nature.  A  soil  impenetrable  to  air  resists  the 
processes  which  bring  about  rapid  and  substantial  growth.  The  unhealthy  ap- 
pearance of  corn  on  poorly  drained  soils  is  usually  considered  to  be  due  to  too 
much  water,  when  it  is  really  the  lack  of  oxygen.  Corn,  when  planted  very 
deep  in  the  early  spring,  is  very  slow  in  germinating,  due  to  the  fact  that  at 
this  depth  the  temperature  is  exceedingly  low,  and  the  oxygen  is  excluded. 
Corn,  at  80  degrees,  will  germinate  nicely  in  four  days,  while  in  well  prepared 
soil  in  the  early  spring,  the  young  plant  will  not  show  above  the  ground  before 
ten  to  twelve  days. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  that  we  take  up  the  methods  of  improved  cultivation 
as  practiced  at  the  present  time,  as  there  are  several  good  methods  of  produc- 
ing a  fine  crop  of  corn.  We  will  all  agree,  however,  that  there  has  been  great 
advancement  made  in  the  manner  of  cultivating  a  crop  of  corn,  as  compared 
to  the  days  twenty  years  ago.  While  this  has  been  brought  about  largely  by 
the  use  of  improved  machinery,  the  facts  in  the  preceding  pages  have  given  us 
a  better  understanding  why  the  fields  should  be  prepared  as  they  are  now,  and 
why  the  corn  should  be  cultivated  in  the  manner  that  it  is,  in  order  that  we 
obtain  the  great  yields  that  a  number  of  the  more  progressive  farmers  are  re- 
ceiving. 

Not  a  great  many  years  ago  was  the  fact  known,  that  corn  was  susceptible 
to  improvement  by  breeding,  and  the  honor  of  this  discovery  belongs  to  the 
Illinois  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana,  111.  The  investigations  that  were  started 
in  1896  at  the  Illinois  station,  have  included  the  breeding  of  corn  for  increased 
yield,  for  improved  quality,  and  for  a  high  and  low  protein  content,  and  high 
and  low  oil  content.  It  has  been  clearly  established  that  corn  can  be  bred  for 
increased  power  to  yield,  as  well  as  many  other  characteristics,  as  may  be  de- 
sired. Within  the  last  few  years  the  progressive  seed  corn  growers  of  Illinois 
united  themselves  into  the  world's  first  seed  corn  breeders'  association  and 
began  breeding  corn  on  a  commercial  scale.  One  of  the  most  important  im- 
provements that  has  thus  far  been  made  in  the  system  of  corn  breeding  is  that 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  269 

which  relates  to  the  prevention  of  inbreeding.     The  inbreeding  corn   is   con- 
trolled by  the  method  in  which  the  corn  is  planted  in  the  breeding  plot. 

The  breeding  plot  is  a  small  field  of  ground  containing  from  three  to  five 
acres,  isolated  from  all  other  corn  fields,  to  prevent  the  grains  of  pollen  from 
any  other  variety  of  corn,  mixing  with  that  of  the  breeding  plot.  The  field  is 
planted  in  rows  about  thirty  rods  in  length.  Each  row  is  planted  with  seed 
from  a  separate  ear,  using  only  one-half  of  the  kernels  on  the  ear.  The  per- 
formance record  of  the  plants  from  each  individual  seed  ear  is  observed  and* 
accurately  measured.  It  thus  becomes  possible  to  base  our  subsequent  seed 
selected  upon  the  performance  records  of  the  progeny  from  individual  mother 
ears. 

In  this  system  of  planting  we  are  confronted  by  the  problem  of  self-pollina- 
tion and  of  close  pollination.  In  order  to  prevent  this  deteriorating  influence 
in  successful  corn  breeding,  we  detassel  the  alternate  halves  of  each  row ;  that 
is,  we  go  through  the  breeding  plots  just  at  the  time  the  tassels  are  making 
their  appearance,  before  the  pollen  is  matured,  and  pull  out,  not  cut  out,  the 
tassels  from  the  stalks  of  the  east  half  of  one  row  and  the  west  half  of  the 
row  adjoining,  and  so  on,  until  all  the  rows  are  thus  treated. 

It  is  necessary  to  do  this  work  at  the  proper  time,  and  at  intervals  of  every 
three  or  four  days,  till  all  the  tassels  have  made  their  appearance.  The  ears 
of  the  detasseled  stalks  will  thus  be  fertilized  by  pollen  from  stalks  produced 
by  seed  other  than  its  own. 

This  method  absolutely  prohibits  self-pollination  or  close  pollination  of  the 
future  seed  which  is  so  destructive  to  good  results  in  plant  breeding  of  any 
kind.  By  self-pollination  is  meant  the  transfer  of  pollen  from  the  male  flower, 
the  tassel  of  the  corn  plant,  to  the  female  flower,  the  silk  of  the  same  plant,  and 
by  close  pollination  is  meant  the  transfer  of  pollen  from  the  male  flower  of 
one  plant  to  the  female  flower  of  another  plant  in  the  same  row,  both  of  which 
grew  from  kernels  from  the  same  ear.  This  method  of  detasseling  insures 
cross  pollination  and  markedly  increases  the  yield  of  succeeding  crops. 

Within  the  last  few  years  a  new  phase  of  corn  breeding  has  been  put  into 
practice  by  the  experiment  stations  and  a  few  of  the  more  scientific  members 
of  the  corn  breeders'  association.  This  is  the  direct  crossing  of  two  stalks  of 
corn  or  what  is  termed  hand  pollination.  We  know  that  when  a  perfect  ear 
is  fertilized,  that  it  consists  of  several  hundred  kernels  that  were  fertilized  by 
pollen  grains  from  possibly  a  hundred  or  more  stalks.  Therefore  there  is 
no  record  as  to  the  sire  of  an  ear  of  corn  in  any  of  the  methods  of  corn  breed- 
ing so  far,  and  no  methods  have  been  adopted  to  show  that  the  male  parentage 
can  be  controlled,  other  than  by  the  hand  pollination  method.  This  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly interesting  and  difficult  operation,  and  in  order  to  obtain  results,  the 
greatest  care  must  be  exercised. 

In  the  breeding  plot  we  select  the  two  most  promising  rows  that  were  planted 
with  seed  from  the  preceding  season's  high  yielding  strains,  and  in  each  row 
we  select  the  two  best  individual  stalks  to  be  found,  stalks  that  are  as  near 
our  ideal  as  possible.  The  tassel  of  one  is  covered  with  a  silk  bag,  while  the 
young  shoot  or  ear  on  the  other  stalk  is  covered  with  another  silk  bag.  These 
bags  are  put  on  before  the  silks  make  their  appearance,  and  before  the  pollen 


270  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

has  begun  to  fall  off  the  tassel.  About  three  days  later,  or  after  a  part  of  the 
pollen  has  fallen  off  the  tassel  into  the  bag,  this  bag  is  removed,  the  pollen 
carefully  put  into  a  small  pan  with  a  tight  cover,  and  the  bag  replaced  on  the 
tassel.  The  pan  with  the  pollen  is  then  taken  over  to  the  stalk  having  the 
silk  bag  on  the  ear.  Upon  removing  this  bag  it  will  be  found  that  the  young 
silks  have  begun  to  make  their  appearance,  and  have  protruded  beyond  the 
end  of  the  husks.  An  umbrella  is  held  closely  over  this  ear  while  the  crossing 
is  being  made  to  exclude  all  foreign  pollen.  The  pollen  in  the  pan  is  now 
dusted  gently  over  the  silks  of  this  ear,  and  owing'  to  the  mucilaginous  secre- 
tions on  the  silks,  the  grains  of  pollen  readily  adhere  to  all  the  silks  that  are 
beyond  the  husks  of  the  young  shoot.  The  bag  is  then  replaced  and  the  same 
operation  is  performed  every  other  day  for  three  crossings  or  until  all  the  silks 
show  that  they  have  been  fertilized.  This  then  gives  a  direct  cross  between 
two  individuals  as  in  livestock,  and  is  the  only  method  where  both  parents  are 
under  control.  These  ears  that  are  thus  treated  are  planted  the  following 
year  in. a  separate  isolated  breeding  plot,  ear  to  the  row  system,  performance 
record  kept  from  this  field  we  receive  the  highest  yielding  seed  possible. 

These  ears  are  kept  separate  from  all  other  corn  and  labeled  with  the 
record  of  their  breeding.  The  selection  of  seed  from  the  detasseled  rows  of 
the  breeding  ground  is  the  next  important  step. 

Just  at  the  time  that  the  corn  plant  has  reached  its  zenith  of  growth  be^ 
fore  killing  frosts,  and  just  as  the  ears  are  ripening,  the  detasseled  halves  of 
each  row  are  inspected,  and  seed  ears  are  selected  for  the  following  year. 
No  ear  is  eligible  for  breeding  unless  it  has  been  produced  under  normal  cir- 
cumstances; so  every  ear  that  is  selected  is  taken  from  a  hill  of  corn  contain- 
ing three  stalks,  all  producing  ears.  The  breeding  ears  selected  must  be  grown 
on  stalks  that  stand  up  well,  showing  wind-resistant  qualities.  The  ear  must 
be  about  the  right  height  from  the  ground,  attached  to  the  stalk  with  a  short 
shank,  that  allows  it  to  hang  point  downward,  and  must  be  the  best  developed 
ear  in  every  respect,  in  the  hill.  These  ears  are  all  numbered,  showing  from 
what  row  and  strain  they  are  taken,  and  put  into  the  seed  house,  which  is 
artificially  heated,  where  there  is  an  excellent  circulation  of  air,  in  order  that 
they  may  thoroughly  dry.  After  all  the  breeding  ears  have  been  selected,  the 
entire  field  is  husked,  each  row  to  itself,  and  the  yield  individually  recorded. 

The  champion  rows  are  then  determined,  taking  into  consideration  the  yield 
the  average  weight  per  ear,  the  number  of  barren  stalks  and  suckers  found  in 
each  row.  The  next  year  having  preserved  one-half  of  the  seed  of  each  mother 
ear,  a  number  of  the  best  producing  rows  are  determined,  and  the  remaining 
kernels  are  planted  in  an  isolated  plot  of  ground  where  they  are  free  to  cross- 
pollinate,  and  so  combine  the  best  characteristics  of  the  high  yielding  rows. 
From  this  field  seed  is  obtained  to  plant  the  multiplying  ground  the  following 
year,  which  in  turn  furnishes  enough  seed  for  the  commercial  fields. 

During  the  early  spring  every  ear  is  tested  for  germination,  then  they  are 
weighed,  measured,  shelled  and  the  proportion  of  corn  to  cob  determined.  The 
number  of  rows,  character  of  dent,  size  of  germ,  and  shape  of  kernel  are  all 
recorded,  the  ear  given  a  register  number  in  the  pedigree  record,  showing  from 
what  strain  it  had  been  produced,  and  then  it  is  ready  for  planting. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  271 

One  of  the  essentials  in  corn  breeding  is  uniformity.  However,  this  should 
not  be  carried  too  far.  If  any  one  point  receives  too  much  attention,  other 
desirable  characteristics  will  be  sacrificed  and  a  decreased  yield  will  be  the  re- 
sult. The  desirable  characters  that  should  be  perpetuated  in  breeding  corn  are 
early  maturity,  well  shaped  ear,  uniform  type  of  kernel,  the  ear  placed  at  the 
right  height  on  the  stalk,  and  the  stalk  with  wind-resisting  qualities.  Too  much 
attention  should  not  be  given  to  the  well  filled  ear,  except  for  show  purposes, 
and  only  those  characters  that  tend  to  increase  the  yield  of  marketable  corn 
should  receive  the  greatest  attention. 

While  there  has  been  great  advancement  made  in  the  production  of  corn 
within  the  last  half  century,  there  has  been  a  comparable  advancement  in  the 
management  of  the  soil.  Where  our  forefathers  farmed  is  now  the  impover- 
ished lands,  the  higher  parts  of  the  fields,  but  with  the  advent  of  the  steam 
dredge,  and  drain  tile,  the  swamps  that  were,  are  now  our  fertile  fields,  pro- 
ducing the  large  yields  and  commanding  the  highest  price  of  all  the  farming 
lands. 

However,  these  lands  will  begin  to  lose  their  fertility,  and  the  great  prob- 
lem now  confronting  the  farmers  of  Vermilion  County  as  well  as  the  corn 
belt,  is  how  to  maintain  the  fertility  of  these  soils,  and  to  make  them  better, 
richer  in  plant  food,  that  they  may  produce  the  amounts  of  grains  necessary  to 
feed  the  ever-increasing  population  of  this  great  country. 

THE   SHEEP    INDUSTRY    IN    VERMILION    COUNTY. 

The  sheep  industry  in  Vermilion  County  had  its  beginning  in  a  very  small 
way.  Most  of  the  pioneers  owned  a  few  sheep,  from  the  wool  of  which  their 
clothing  was  made.  These  flocks  grew  as  time  went  on,  but  they  were  used 
for  home  consumption,  and  not  until  the  sixties,  was  there  much  shipping  done. 
The  nearest  market  of  any  consequence  was  Philadelphia;  at  that  time  five 
hundred  sheep  would  break  the  market  of  Chicago.  Farmers  along  the  streams, 
in  the  wooded  sections,  experienced  a  good  deal  of  trouble  from  milk-sick,  or 
trembles,  as  it  was  commonly  called,  and  sheep  could  not  be  handled  in  num- 
bers ;  but  in  the  south  part  of  the  county  and  on  the  west  prairies  the  advan- 
tages were  better. 

In  1848,  James  Milliken  came  to  this  county  from  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
about  1850  located  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Thompson  farm,  south  of 
Fithian,  and  probably  was  the  first  man  to  engage  in  the  sheep  business  in 
Vermilion  County.  He  continued  successfully  in  this  business  for  several 
years  and  here  made  the  nucleus  for  his  immense  fortune.  In  1858  he  moved 
to  Decatur.  In  1900  he  founded  the  James  Milliken  University  of  Decatur. 
In  1909  he  died,  a  wealthy  man  and  great  philanthropist. 

In  about  1856,  Peleg  Spencer  engaged  in  the  sheep  business  on  a  farm 
where  now  is  Central  Park.  His  operations  in  this  business  were  brought  to 
a  close  rather  suddenly,  after  several  years  of  successful  management,  by  some 
local  capitalists  discovering-  a  flaw  in  his  title  to  the  land,  and  who  took  steps 
to  secure  it  for  themselves  without  his  knowledge.  This  so  discouraged  him 
that  he  gave  up  his  business  and  soon  became  a  bankrupt  and  ruined  man. 
John  Cole  of  Ridge  Farm,  an  early  pioneer,  later  leased  this  farm  and  used  it 


272  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

in  connection  with  his  land  at  Ridge  Farm  for  the  handling  of  sheep.  Mr.  Cole 
enjoyed  a  thriving  business  during  the  Civil  war.  Harrison  Jones  and  Jno.  E. 
Cooper  of  Georgetown,  were  leading  sheep  men  of  that  section.  Like  Mr. 
Cole,  their  sheep  numbered  about  two  thousand.  These  men  continued  in  this 
business  many  years,  but  finally  almost  abandoned  it,  conditions  arising  that 
made  the  outlook  unfavorable.  At  the  present  time  and  for  several  years  there 
has  been  no  activity  in  this  industry  in  that  locality. 

In  1862  Edwin  and  Edward  Foreman  brought  five  thousand  sheep  from 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  located  three  miles  west  of  Newtown,  but  remained  there 
but  five  years,  the  marshy  condition  of  that  section  only  encouraged  disease 
of  the  feet  and  rendered  the  business  unprofitable.  They  moved  to  Champaign 
County  near  Penfield,  where  -they  continued  the  business  successfully  many 
years. 

In  1864,  Willy  Fowler  came  to  this  county  from  Marion  County,  Ohio, 
with  four  thousand  sheep  and  located  on  Pilot  Grove  Farm,  a  beautiful  body 
of  4,000  acres  of  land,  having  natural  drainage.  This  farm  was  well  adapted 
to  the  grazino-  of  sheep,  and  Mr.  Fowler  saw  opportunities  for  a  great  business 
here  and  decided  to  remain  permanently  in  this  location,  and  in  1868  bought 
the  farm.  At  this  time  the  price  of  wool  reached  its  zenith,  and  for  two  years 
Mr.  Fowler  sold  12,000  Ibs.  of  Ai  wool  for  98  cents  per  pound,  many  of  t*he 
fleeces  weighting  24  Ibs.  each. 

A  few  years  later  there  were  several  men  engaged  in  the  sheep  industry, 
but  their  flocks  were  limited  to  a  few  hundred  head.  Jacob  and  Samuel  Frees 
and  Mack  Eyestone,  along  the  extreme  western  border  of  the  county  were, 
quite  successful.  The  Freeses  were  breeders  of  fine  Merino  sheep  and  pro- 
duced many  prize  winners.  Mr.  Eyestone,  now  a  resident  of  Urbana,  relates 
an  interesting  experience,  connected  with  his  early  handling  of  sheep.  He 
drove  a  small  band  to  Chicago,  but  found  absolutely  no  market,  and  was  herd- 
ing them  on  the  flats  south  of  the  city,  when  he  had  an  opportunity  to  trade 
his  sheep  for  a  frog  pond  and  did  so,  feeling  that  he  had  practically  given  them 
away,  but  that  frog  pond  today  is  worth  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Others 
who  handled  sheep  in  bands  of  a  few  hundred  were  Jno.  Smith  (Eng.)  of  Po- 
tomac, Thomas  Dye  of  Armstrong,  John  R.  Thompson  of  Fithian  and  George 
Allen  of  Allerton,  an  Englishman  who  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  fine  Shrop- 
shires.  He  imported  the  male  sheep  from  England.  He  was  very  successful 
and  became  famous  among  stock  men  for  his  prize  winners,  capturing  first 
premiums  at  many  fairs  throughout  this  and  adjoining  states,  for  several  years. 
He  operated  in  this  county  from  about  1872  to  1890.  He  later  moved  to  Ne- 
braska. 

Many  disadvantages  attended  the  first  few  years  of  the  sheep  business  in 
this  county;  wolves  were  numerous  then;  it  was  necessary  to  build  scarecrows 
and  corral  the  sheep  at  night  and  herd  them  through  the  day;  water  was  ob- 
tained for  all  stock  by  digging  shallow  wells,  perhaps  six  or  seven  feet  deep, 
and  from  these  men  would  dip  the  water  into  troughs ;  it  required  only  a  short 
time  to  empty  a  well,  but  it  would  fill  again  in  a  few  hours.  Where  there  was 
much  stock,  a  great  many  of  these  wells  were  necessary,  and  were  often  dug 
within  a  few  rods  of  each  other.  Then,  too,  the  railroad  facilities  were  poor, 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  273 

the  Wabash  Railroad  being  the  only  one  that  crossed  this  county.  This,  in 
many  cases,  necessitated  the  hauling  of  wool  and  driving  of  sheep  many  miles 
to  a  shipping  point ;  but  nevertheless,  it  was  a  very  profitable  business,  as  prices 
were  high.  But  prosperity  in  this  industry  was  destined  to  be  of  short  life. 
Disease  crept  in  through  the  bringing  into  this  county  of  sheep  with  foot  rot, 
scabbies  and  diseases  of  the  head,  rendering  the  business  unprofitable.  For  a 
time  owners  struggled  with  these  diseases,  which  were  more  disastrous  than 
snowstorms  or  the  ravages  of  wild  animals,  but  as  little  was  known  then  about 
combating  with  them,  the  business  was  abandoned  for  a  few  years  and  stock 
men  devoted  themselves  to  the  raising  and  feeding  of  cattle,  which,  though 
much  more  desirable  to  handle,  have  never  been  the  money-makers  that  sheep 
have  been.  After  a  few  hard,  freezing  winters,  which  was  supposed  to  eradi- 
cate these  disease  germs  from  the  soil,  the  sheep  business  was  again  under- 
taken and  more  extensively,  as  advantages  had  materially  improved.  Shipping 
facilities  were  better,  markets  nearer,  the  old  dug  well  and  digging  bucket  had 
been  discarded  for  the  windmill  and  tubular  well,  with  its  inexhaustible  supply 
of  water,  while  very  expensive  then,  it  was  welcomed  by  all  progressive  farm- 
ers and  is  today  the  popular  mode  of  providing  water  for  all  purposes.  There 
were  days  and  weeks  in  summer  that  the  wind  did  not  blow,  then  men  took 
the  pump  handles  and  bravely  toiled  through  the  livelong  day  in  the  broiling 
sun,  scarcely  able  to  satisfy  the  clamoring  animals  about  them.  Quite  differ- 
ent is  it  now  since  the  invention  of  the  gasoline  engine,  which  all  large  stock- 
men have  and  which  can  be  hauled  from  one  field  to  another,  and  attached  to 
the  pump,  quickly  providing  water  for  the  immense  droves  of  many  thousands 
of  sheep,  now  common  here. 

Then  when  shearing  time  comes  this  same  gasoline  engine  is  placed  in  the 
great  wool  barns,  and,  attached  to  a  sheep-shearing  device  (a  modern  invention) 
furnishes  the  power  for  a  dozen  men  who  have  only  to  guide  the  clippers, 
quickly  relieving  the  sheep  of  its  beautiful  fleece,  without  torture.  So  much  for 
progressive  America.  No  wonder  our  young  men  are  amassing  fortunes  in  this 
industry,  when  we  consider  their  advantages  over  the  pioneer  stockmen,  being 
within  a  few  miles  from  shipping  points  and  a  few  hours  from  the  best  stock 
market  in  the  world  today,  with  a  report  of  the  same  at  their  doors  daily. 

True,  there  has  never  been  a  time  when  disease  among  sheep  has  been  totally 
unknown,  but  the  methods  of  treating  them  are  so  much  improved  and  the  quar- 
antine laws  so  rigid  that  dealers  feel  a  much-needed  protection. 

There  seems  to  be  a  tendency  among  sheep  to  develop  that  heretofore  dreaded 
disease,  Scabbies,  but  the  ever  thoughtful  Uncle  Sam  has  provided  careful  in- 
spection at  all  important  stock  yards  and  western  sheep  are  absolutely  required 
to  go  through  the  dipping  vats,  and  in  cases  of  herds  from  the  home  fields,  if 
there  is  a  suspicion  of  this  disease,  they  are  subjected  to  the  same  treatment. 
This  careful  attention  reduces  the  horrors  of  this  disease  to  a  minimum.  Scab- 
bies is  a  winter  pest,  while  foot-rot  is  more  prevalent  in  spring  and  summer  and 
is  more  to  be  dreaded,  as  it  is  both  contagious  and  infectious  and  up  to  the 
present  time  is  pronounced  incurable.  For  this  disease  there  is  now  a 
strict  quarantine  law  and  for  animals  so  afflicted  there  is  no  market.  About  the 


274  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

only  thing  to  be  done  with  them  is  to  kill  them  and  use  them  for  fertilizers  by 
burying. 

In  about  1898  there  developed  here  a  new  disease  called  intestinal  worm ; 
this  attacked  only  the  lambs  and  was  very  fatal.  This,  coupled  with  the  in- 
creasingly high  price  of  land  has  led  to  a  complete  change  in  the  sheep  business 
in  Illinois. 

Methods  of  handling  sheep  too  have  changed.  Formerly  no  attempt  was 
made  to  house  the  animals  or  their  coarse  feed,  but  in  these  days  of  high  prices 
there  must  be  no  waste,  so  huge  sheds,  with  water  piped  into  them,  are  built, 
covering  sometimes  an  acre  of  ground  and  with  a  capacity  for  ten  thousand 
sheep,  with  roughness  stored  above.  These  protect  the  feed  as  well  as  the 
flocks  from  heavy  storms,  thus  avoiding  the  shrinkage  which  always  follows 
extreme  exposure. 

Very,  very  few  sheep  are  now  raised  here  but  many  thousands  are  bought 
from  the  ranges  of  the  great  sheep  producing  west,  or  from  the  city  markets, 
shipped  here,  fattened,  then  shorn  of  their  fleece  and  marketed. 

U.  G.  Fowler  introduced  the  feeding  of  western  sheep  in  this  county,  which 
has  proven  so  much  more  profitable  than  the  raising  of  sheep,  that  it  is  the  gen- 
eral custom  now  and  each  year  ushers  new  men  into  the  business.  In  1903  Mr. 
Fowler  marketed  17,000  sheep  from  the  Pilot  Grove  Farm;  the  same  year  he 
had  two  hundred  sheep  killed  by  wolves.  Until  then  there  had  not  been  a  wolf 
seen  for  years.  In  1909  one  was  killed  near  Penfield,  which  shows  that  they 
may  not  be  extinct  here  yet. 

Among  the  young  men  those  most  active  in  the  sheep  business  for  the  last 
ten  or  fifteen  years  are  U.  G.  Fowler,  D.  M.  Fowler,  Ed.  Stevens,  G.  M.  Mc- 
Cray,  Fred  Endicott  and  Arthur  Bass. 

The  profits  in  the  sheep  industry  have  varied  with  the  changes  in  the  tariff 
on  wool.  There  is  nothing  that  the  farmer  handles  that  responds  so  quickly 
to  tariff  disturbance  as  does  wool.  From  1896  to  1900  the  business  was  very 
unprofitable  and  wool  was  stored  and  held  for  better  prices  which  came  in 
1900.  There  has  always  been  fluctuations  in  the  markets  produced  by  supply 
and  demand,  but  these  were  never  sufficient  to  completely  destroy  all  profit  and 
it  is  becoming  recognized  more  and  more  that  the  sheep  industry  is  the  best 
paying  business  that  the  farmer  can  combine  with  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  From 
the  point  of  fertilization  alone  it  stands  preeminent. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
FAMOUS  FARMS. 

PILOT    GROVE    FARM — FAIRVIEW THE    MANN     FARMS THE    ALLERTON     FARM. 

Vermilion  County  is  eminently  an  agricultural  section.  Few  are  the  fac- 
tories, and,  spite  of  every  reason  to  the  contrary,  scattered  are  the  manufactur- 
ing interests.  The  county  is  second  to  none  in  the  state  in  the  number  and  value 
of  the  farms.  Some  of  these  farms  are  historic,  and  some  of  them  are  of 
particular  interest  because  of  the  variety  of  production.  Space  only  permits  the 
consideration  of  a  few  of  these  farms,  and  those  have  been  chosen  which  are  rep- 
resentative. These  are  the  Pilot  Grove  farm,  the  Fairview  farm,  the  Mann  farm 
and  the  Allerton  farm. 

PILOT    GROVE    FARM. 

The  Pilot  Grove  farm  located  in  the  middle  and  western  part  of  Vermilion 
county,  secured  its  name  from  the  fact  that  almost  in  the  center  of  its  3,600 
acres,  stood  the  Pilot  Grove.  This  was  a  tract  of  timber  of  200  acres,  which 
was  the  only  timber  in  the  county  not  bordering  a  stream  and  which,  standing 
on  the  top  of  the  old  California  ridge  in  that  vast  prairie  could  be  seen  for 
many  miles  from  all  directions.  It  was  a  guide  to  the  traveler  in  an  early 
day ;  hence  its  name. 

The  first  settler  in  this  locality  was  Moses  Girard,  who  entered  from  the 
government  160  acres  in  1831  and  160  acres  adjoining  in  1835.  Of  this  man's 
courage  enough  can  not  be  said,  as  it  was  considered  almost  foolhardy  to  at- 
tempt a  residence  away  from  timber  protection  then,  and  for  many  years  after, 
but  he  chose  a  cosy  spot  for  a  house  in  a  little  locust  grove  on  a  knoll  and  here 
built  a  part  of  the  famous  old  Half  Way  House. 

Its  architecture  was  peculiar  in  many  respects,  it  had  no  windows  on  the 
west,  the  better  to  protect  its  inmates  from  the  winds  and  storms.  Its  frame 
was  of  heavy  oak  timber  and  between  the  walnut  weather-boarding  and  plas- 
tering was  a  wall  of  brick.  These  were  evidently  made  on  the  farm  as  traces 
of  a  kiln  can  be  seen  today  by  the  ploughman;  so  we  see  he  had  quite  effec- 
tually fortified  himself  to  battle  with  the  elements.  Cattle  raising  and  grazing 
was  his  chief  occupation. 

In  1839,  he  sold  this  farm  to  Wm.  I.  Moore,  who  in  185052-53,  entered 
from  the  government  3,366  acres  adjoining  it,  and  to  the  house  Mr.   Moore 

275 


276  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

built  an  addition  twice  as  large  as  the  original,  and  of  the  same  solid  materials. 
Several  of  the  rooms  had  large  fireplaces,  with  cupboards,  built  to  the  ceiling 
on  either  side;  underneath  the  whole  was  a  brick  foundation  and  basement, 
called  cellar  in  those  days.  When  completed,  this  great  old  house  presented 
a  commodious  and  imposing  appearance,  and  standing  as  it  did  on  an  eminence 
like  the  Pilot  Grove,  which  was  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  west,  it 
could  be  seen  for  many  miles  in  that  vast  expanse  of  unbroken  prairie,  and  has 
furnished  shelter  and  food,  day  and  night,  to  many  weary  travelers.  It  was 
known  for  almost  two  score  of  years  as  the  Half  Way  House,  being  almost 
midway  between  Danville  and  Rantoul,  and,  while  several  miles  to  the  north  of 
a  direct  line  between  Danville  and  Champaign,  it  was  about  midway  of  the 
course  the  early  traveler  chose  (taking  the  uplands  to  avoid  the  swamps)  and 
he  found  it  most  convenient  to  stop  for  the  night  at  the  Half  Way  House. 

Over  2,000  acres  of  this  land  which  Mr.  Moore  obtained  from  the  govern- 
ment cost  him  $1.25  per  acre,  but  for  1,300  acres  he  paid  only  12%  cts.  each, 
it  being  swamp  land  and  considered  worthless.  Now  this  same  land  is  the 
best  on  the  farm  and  easily  worth  $200  per  acre.  This  is  due  to  the  extensive 
tiling  which  has  been  done.  Mr.  Jno.  Scott  managed  this  farm  for  Mr.  Moore 
for  many  years  and  was  a  loyal  tenant,  which  fact  is  demonstrated  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident :  Two  men  came  to  the  Scott  home  for  the  night ;  they  were 
looking  over  the  country  for  a  promising  location,  on  land  yet  owned  by  the 
government;  in  the  course  of  the  evening  they  stated  that  they  intended  to 
enter  the  land  on  which  stood  the  Pilot  Grove.  Now  this  grove  was  in  the 
center  of  Mr.  Moore's  farm,  and  Mr.  Scott  realized  that  it  would  be  a  bitter 
disappointment  to  him  for  these  men  to  get  possession  of  it.  After  the  strangers 
had  retired  for  the  night,  Mr.  Scott  mounted  a  horse  and  rode  into  Danville, 
a  distance  of  eighteen  miles  and  notified  Mr.  Moore,  who  presented  himself  at 
the  patent  office  and  secured  for  himself  this  land.  Mrs.  Scott,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Rowland,  an  early  pioneer,  and  who  afterward  became 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Moore,  often  said  that  she  would  take  the  field  glasses  in  the 
morning  and  survey  the  whole  country,  and  if  she  saw  a  drove  of  cattle  any- 
where in  the  distance,  she  knew  they  must  expect  company,  and  proceeded  to 
prepare  for  them.  She  was  the  mother  of  Thomas  Scott,  recently  deceased, 
who  was  an  important  man  in  the  affairs  of  this  state  and  who  resided  at 
Charleston. 

After  Mr.  Scott's  death  Mr.  Moore  leased  the  farm  to  Willy  Fowler,  who 
had  come  to  this  country  from  Ohio,  looking  for  a  good  location  for  the  sheep 
business.  This  farm  more  nearly  met  the  requirements  than  any  he  had  seen, 
and  in  1864  he  took  possession,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  farm's  history,  the 
cattle  business  was  at  low  ebb  and  sheep  held  sway.  Heretofore  the  dangers 
from  wild  animals  had  been  considered  too  great  for  this  industry  to  thrive 
here,  but  as  profits  in  this  business  were  greater  than  ever  before  or  since 
(wool  selling  for  $i  per  lb.),  it  was  worth  taking  some  chances  on  it.  Wolves 
and  foxes  were  numerous,  and  the  greatest  care  was  taken  to  protect  the  flocks, 
but  notwithstanding  this,  their  depredations  were  appalling,  and  often  led  to 
wolf  chases  and  fox  hunts,  which  were  enjoyed  by  all  settlers  for  many  miles 


OLD   HALF   WAY    HOUSE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  277 

around  and  which  always  resulted  in  the  death  of  some  of  these  pests  and 
lessened  their  activities  for  a  time. 

Deer  abounded  in  numbers  and  raised  their  young  in  the  wild  grass,  which 
grew  as  high  as  a  horse's  head.  There  is  an  idea  extant  (but  for  the  truth 
of  which  I  cannot  vouch)  that  the  very  young  fawn  has  no  spots  and  no  odor 
until  it  reaches  the  age  of  activity,  thus  being  protected  from  beasts  of  prey, 
as  it  lay  hidden  in  the  grass.  Wild  geese  and  ducks,  prairie  chicken  and 
quail  were  numerous,  too,  and  these  furnished  great  sport  for  the  hunters. 

Mr.  Fowler  was  a  famous  shot  and  kept  splendid  hunting  dogs,  and  many 
friends  from  the  neighboring  towns  and  from  his  old  home  in  Ohio  enjoyed 
vacations  with  him  on  this  farm. 

But  to  retrace — Mr.  Fowler  came  here  a  widower  with  three  children  and 
a  widowed  mother,  Mrs.  Cynthia  Fowler,  who,  well-loved,  soon  became  Grand- 
ma Fowler  to  everybody.  She  witnessed  the  development  of  Pilot  township 
from  an  uncultivated  swamp  region  to  farms  unsurpassed  for  fertility  and 
good  improvements,  and  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  91  years. 

In  1865  Mr.  Fowler  returned  to  Ohio  and  married  Mary  Dillon,  a  girl  of 
unusual  courage  and  energy,  who  made  a  noble  mother  and  an  untiring  help- 
mate, and  to  whom  he  gives  great  credit  for  his  later  success.  Few  women, 
even  in  those  early  days  have  given  such  aid  with  heart,  hands  and  brain  as 
did  Mrs.  Fowler.  Devotion  to  family  and  home  was  her  watchword,  and  her 
beautiful  Christian  character  shone  with  brightness  throughout  her  life  and 
none  have  gone  to  their  reward  more  revered  by  her  family  than  was  she. 

In  1868  Mr.  Fowler  bought  the  Pilot  Grove  farm  of  3,686  acres  for  $51,- 
ooo,  paying  $10,000  in  cash,  the  remainder  in  notes.  This  seemed  an  enormous 
price,  and  it  was  predicted  freely  that  the  venture  would  bankrupt  him.  These 
predictions  proved  to  be  false,  however.  He  continued  handling  sheep  for 
several  years,  when  on  account  of  disease  among  them  he  abandoned  that  in- 
dustry for  a  time  and  devoted  himself  to  the  cattle  business,  and  from  that 
time  until  he  retired  from  the  farm,  there  was  not  a  year  that  he  failed  to 
market  a  drove  of  fat  cattle.  He  was  considered  an  expert  at  producing  heavy 
beeves. 

The  cattle  business  in  connection  with  farming  has  been  general  through- 
out the  county,  until  recent  years.  Now,  herds  of  cattle  are  rare  indeed. 
Land  has  become  too  valuable  to  be  kept  in  pasture,  which  is  a  necessity  in 
the  handling  of  cattle.  Conditions  improved  and  Mr.  Fowler  again  embarked 
in  the  sheep  business  together  with  cattle  and  hogs.  He  followed  this  policy 
successfully  almost  twenty  years.  He  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  horses  and 
usually  had  a  drove  of  about  forty  on  the  farm,  among  them  were  always  some 
very  good  ones  of  the  draft  variety,  which  he  often  exhibited  at  the  county 
fairs  and  rarely  failed  to  carry  away  some  of  the  honors. 

When  he  took  possession  of  this  farm  there  were  no  fences  or  other  im- 
provements, except  the  house  and  two  orchards,  which  were  then  in  their 
prime.  There  were  five  acres  of  apple  trees,  from  which  were  gathered  and 
buried  for  winter's  use  hundreds  of  bushels  every  fall,  and  apple  butter  was 
made  by  the  barrel.  About  the  first  step  towards  the  improvement  of  the  farm 
was  the  changing  of  the  roads  from  the  zig-zag  courses  across  the  country  to 


278  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

straight  roads;  then  came  the  fencing,  which  was  an  enormous  undertaking. 
A  force  of  twenty  men  worked  three  years  planting  hedge,  of  which  there  were 
forty-five  miles.  This  involved  great  expense  and  much  hard  work  for  the 
women  of  the  household.  The  question  of  drainage  came  next.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  tile  this  land  in  order  to  cultivate  it.  It  is  estimated  that  seventy  miles 
of  tile  have  been  laid  on  this  farm. 

As  fast  as  the  fields  were  drained  they  were  used  for  the  cultivation  of 
corn,  wheat  and  oats,  alternately,  that  their  fertility  might  be  maintained.  The 
corn  was  rarely  marketed,  but  fed  to  stock  which  method  also  increased  the 
fertility  of  the  soil.  About  1,000  acres  were  retained  in  pasture,  as  there  were 
from  six  to  twelve  thousand  sheep  handled  annually.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  houses  were  built  for  tenants  who  raised  the  crops  on  shares.  This, 
of  course,  lessened  the  labors  of  the  women,  which,  to  recount,  would  seem 
almost  impossible.  Aside  from  the  never  ending  cooking,  there  were  the  candle- 
dipping  seasons,  when  a  sufficient  number  of  candles  for  the  whole  year  were 
made.  Then  came  the  sugar-making  times,  which  were  fraught  with  a  great 
deal  of  pleasure  as  well  as  labor,  when  sugar  enough  was  made  to  last  a  year, 
which  meant  many  barrels.  These  sugar  trees  were  in  the  heart  of  the  Pilot 
Grove,  and  were  only  a  small  part  of  the  riches  confined  in  its  cloisters. 

Wild  fruits  such  as  blackberries  and  plums  grew  in  abundance,  and  none 
were  permitted  to  waste.  But  its  greatest  treasures  were  the  huge  black  wal- 
nut trees,  thousands  of  which  were  sold  for  milling  purposes.  This  grove,  too, 
furnished  fuel  for  many  families,  and  many,  many  miles  of  fencing  have  been 
made  from  its  timbers;  and  now  there  remains  only  a  skeleton  of  its  former 
self,  it  being  deemed  best  to  clear  it,  on  account  of  milk-sick  or  trembles  that 
lurked  in  it,  for  which  sunshine  is  a  specific  it  seems,  since  wherever  its  rays 
permeate,  there  is  none  of  this  deadly  disease,  the  cause  of  which  scientists 
have  failed  to  fathom. 

During  the  early  years  of  Mr.  Fowler's  residence  on  this  farm,  there  was 
no  school  house  for  miles,  and  a  private  school  was  conducted  in  his  home,  at- 
tended by  his  own  and  the  children  of  Mr.  James  Exton,  who  had  a  most  ex- 
cellent family,  and  who  lived  in  a  nearby  tenant  house  from  which  they  moved 
several  years  later  to  a  farm  of  their  own. 

The  hospitality  of  this  old  home  was  unbounded;  there  was  scarcely  a  day 
when  some  wayfarer  was  not  cared  for,  and  no  one  was  ever  refused  food  or 
shelter,  and  it  was  a  great  place  for  people  to  congregate  for  a  good  time. 
Often,  on  Sundays,  there  would  be  fifty  people  there  for  dinner,  and  little 
was  thought  of  the  work  this  necessitated,  for  all  enjoyed  it.  In  the  way  of 
amusements  these  pioneers  had  little,  yet  they  were  very  happy.  The  quilting 
bees,  the  writing,  spelling  and  singing  schools,  and  an  occasional  dance  were 
all  sufficient  to  drive  dull  care  away. 

A  little  incident  is  related  by  an  old  drover,  which  illustrates  Mrs.  Fow- 
ler's kindness  of  heart.  He  and  several  men  were  going  through  that  country 
with  a  herd  of  swine,  which  were  not  allowed  to  stop  on  the  farm  on  account 
of  the  damages  by  rooting  up  the  ground.  Mrs.  Fowler  prepared  a  basket  of 
food  and  handed  it  to  these  men  as  they  passed  the  house.  This  was  so  much 
appreciated  by  them  that  they  never  tired  telling  of  it. 


HOME  OF  D.  II.  FOWLER 


THE  HEXXETT  HOME 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  279 

In  1880  a  new  home  of  twelve  large  rooms  was  built  (not  on  the  site  of 
the  old  one,  but  on  a  knoll  at  the  east  side  of  the  grove)  facing  south  and 
commanding  a  view  of  many  thousands  of  acres  of  beautiful  land  sloping  grad- 
ually downward  to  the  Salt  Fork  river,  seven  miles  below. 

In  this  home  death  visited  the  family  three  times,  and  Mr.  Fowler  being 
depressed  by  the  death  of  three  of  his  children  and  the  illness  of  others,  decided 
to  give  up  active  farm  life  and  go  west  for  a  time.  In  1891  he  leased  the 
farm  to  his  son,  U.  G.  Fowler,  who  operated  it  very  successfully  for  thirteen 
years.  He  confined  his  stock  mainly  to  sheep  and  horses.  His  methods  of 
handling  sheep  were  different  from  his  father's,  but  equally  as  profitable.  He 
introduced  the  feeding  of  western  sheep  in  this  county,  which  has  proven  very 
popular. 

By  this  time  the  foundation  under  the  old  house  had  begun  to  weaken 
and  the  plastering  to  fall ;  it  was  therefore  razed.  The  frame  was  so  amazingly 
good,  better  than  could  be  purchased  then,  that  Mr.  Fowler  used  it  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  bank  barn;  thus  the  old  landmark  disappeared,  but  the  picture 
of  it  is  herewith  shown,  reproduced  from  memory  and  perfected  by  the  young 
artist,  Herman  Tengen,  Jr. 

In  1904  David  M.  Fowler,  another  son,  took  charge  of  the  farm  and  occu- 
pies the  family  home.  He  bought  several  hundred  acres  of  his  father,  adjoin- 
ing that  which  he  had  given  him,  and  now  owns  about  1,50x3  acres  in  the  heart 
of  the  farm,  and  on  which  the  Pilot  Grove  stands.  The  remainder  of  the 
farm  Mr.  Fowler  has  divided  among  his  other  children,  none  of  it  having  left 
the  family. 

George  M.  McCray,  a  grandson  of  Willy  Fowler,  now  has  charge  of  800 
acres  of  the  south  side  of  the  old  farm.  He  is  extensively  interested  in  sheep, 
but  is  a  great  fancier  and  good  judge  of  horses".  For  the  last  few  years  he 
has  been  breeding  English  shire  horses,  and  at  the  International  Stock  Show, 
held  in  Chicago  in  December  of  1910,  he  captured  first  premium  on  a  pair  of 
Shire  mares  and  second  and  fifth  on  other  stock  shown.  So  it  would  seem 
that  the  reputation  the  old  farm  enjoyed  in  other  days  was  to  be  maintained. 

Ever  since  the  ownership  of  the  principal  part  of  the  Pilot  Grove  Farm  by 
David  Fowler,  he  has  kept  up  continual  and  effective  building,  and  now  it  is 
in  a  high  state  of  improvement  and  is  a  beautiful  place.  He  has  built  new 
fences,  barns,  tenant  houses,  immense  cribs  and  sheep  sheds,  and  he,  like  his 
predecessors,  is  a  full  grown  sheep  man,  following  the  custom  of  feeding 
western  sheep.  He  has  been  wonderfully  successful,  and  the  future  certainly 
looks  bright  for  him.  His  home  is  modern  in  every  respect,  having  hardwood 
floors,  a  water  plant,  a  gaslight  plant,  and  hot  water  system  of  heating.  Cer- 
tainly, farm  life  is  idealized  here,  and  the  spirit  of  hospitality  that  pervaded 
the  old  home  almost  a  half  century  ago,  is  continued  in  this  home  today. 

FAIRVIEW    FARM,    SIDELL,    ILL. 

Fairview  Farm  is  situated  near  Sidell,  111.,  in  Carroll  and  Sidell  town- 
ships, with  a  small  part  in  Jamaica  township.  This  farm  is  owned  by  Mrs. 
Emma  Sconce  and  her  two  children,  Harvey  J.  Sconce  and  Mrs.  W.  G.  Cath- 
cart.  The  farm  is,  however,  under  the  direct  management  of  Harvey  J.  Sconce, 


280  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

and  has  been  brought  to  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  and  is  now  producing 
maximum  yields  of  the  principal  crops. 

The  fact  that  over  fifty  per  cent  of  the  land  comprising  this  farm  was  en- 
tered from  the  government  by  Harvey  Sodowsky  and  Samuel  Sconce,  the 
grandfathers  of  the  present  owners,  makes  it  very  valuable  and  brings  with  it 
a  sentiment  that  few  farms  possess,  as  over  1,500  acres  have  never  been  out 
of  the  possession  of  the  Sconce  family  since  being  entered  from  the  govern- 
ment. 

This  farm,  containing  3,000  acres,  including  the  450  acres  of  Woodlawn, 
Harvey  Sodowsky 's  old  homestead,  contains  just  enough  wood  land  to  lend 
beauty  to  it,  and  makes  ideal  pastures  for  cattle  that  are  to  be  found  on  this 
farm.  When  the  land  was  first  taken  over  from  the  government,  it  was  either 
heavy  timber  along  the  streams,  or  raw  prairie  farther  back,  and  it  was  the 
work  of  years  and  two  generations  to  bring  it  to  the  high  state  of  efficiency 
that  it  now  occupies.  The  prairies  were  first  drained  by  the  obsolete  method 
of  mole  ditches,  and  open  ditches,  but  as  soon  as  the  tile  drain  was  invented 
and  manufactured  in  the  county,  these  replaced  the  old  methods,  and  miles  of 
tile  drains  were  run  through  these  fields  and  pastures  till  at  present  the  swamps 
and  sloughs  that  were,  are  now  the  heaviest  producing  fields. 

The  eighty  acres  on  which  the  elegant  home  now  stands  was  obtained  from 
the  government  in  1832,  James  Monroe  signing  the  land  patent,  and  all  the 
presidents  from  this  time  to  1850  have  their  signatures  to  land  patents,  that 
are  in  the  possession  of  the  family. 

Samuel  Sconce,  the  grandfather  of  the  present  owners  moved  to  the  farm 
in  1834,  built  a  small  house  and  later  added  to  it  just  a  short  distance  from  the 
present  home,  and  he  built  so  well  that  the  old  original  house  is  still  in  use, 
being  remodeled  several  times. 

James  S.  Sconce,  after  being  united  in  marriage  with  Emma  Sodowsky, 
moved  into  this  house  in  1863,  and  ten  years  later  built  what  was  then  the 
finest  country  farm  house  in  the  county.  This  house  stood  till  last  year,  1909, 
when  it  was  remodeled  and  a  new  modern  home  took  its  place.  The  present 
home  is  of  colonial  design,  is  located  toward  the  north  center  part  of  a  ten- 
acre  lawn  shaded  by  immense  forest  trees  and  the  immediate  lawn  and  fore- 
ground around  the  house  is  banked  with  masses  of  beautiful  shrubs  and  flow- 
ers. This  work  was  designed  and  executed  by  the  landscape  architect  of  the 
University  of  Illinois,  and  shows  how  a  country  home  can  be  beautified  by  the 
addition  to  its  surroundings  of  well  selected  shrubbery  and  flowers. 

At  present  the  farm  is  under  a  system  of  grain  farming,  and  livestock  is 
handled  in  a  small  way  only,  compared  to  what  has  been  the  rule,  but  the 
methods  employed  in  the  grain  operations  are  entirely  new  to  the  average  farm- 
ing community. 

Scientific  corn  breeding  in  its  advanced  forms  is  employed  in  the  broad 
fields  of  this  farm,  and  the  resulting  yields  show  the  advancement  made  in  this 
important  branch  of  agriculture.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  carefully  studied, 
and  by  crop  rotation  with  the  principal  grains,  the  addition  of  a  legume  crop 
and  commercial  fertilizers,  such  as  rock  phosphate,  is  returning  the  fertility  to 
the  soils  that  are  depleted,  and  these  fields  are  regaining  the  place  they  once 


JOHN  T.  MANN 


THOMAS  BENNETT 


ABRAHAM  MANN,  SR. 


ABRAHAM  MANN.  JR. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  281 

occupied,  when  they  were  in  their  virgin  state.  The  breeding  of  wheat  and 
oats  on  a  scientific  scale  is  being  practiced  in  connection  with  the  corn  breed- 
ing, as  well  as  several  experiments  in  different  characters  of  grains. 

The  methods  of  corn  growing  and  of  scientific  cultivation  the  selection  of 
seed,  the  storing,  preparing  for  the  planting  of  the  same,  and  of  the  hand  polli- 
nation and  methods  of  operations  in  the  breeding  plots,  will  be  found  in  the 
chapter  on  corn  production  found  in  this  volume  and  written  by  the  owner  of 
Fairview  Farm. 

THE    MANN    FARM. 

It  is  two  miles  south  of  Rossville,  in  Vermilion  County,  that  the  well-known 
Mann  farm  is  located.  To  appreciate  this  farm  it  is  necessary  to  recite  a  little 
of  the  history  of  the  Mann  family.  To  do  this  one  must  needs  go  back  in 
the  history  of  America  in  the  colonial  period,  when  this  section  was  but  the 
hunting  ground  of  the  Indian.  It  was  at  that  time  a  young  Englishman,  Mr. 
John  Mann,  was  sent  by  his  employers  in  London  to  America  in  the  interests 
of  his  business,  which  was  that  of  the  sale  of  paints.  He  was  located  in  New 
Orleans,  and  a  part  of  his  duties  was  to  extend  the  trade  up  the  Mississippi 
river  as  far  as  possible.  This  took  him  as  far  into  the  Illinois  country  at 
least  as  the  French  towns  on  the  river.  After  a  time  he  went  back  to  Eng- 
land. For  some  reason  the  new  world  did  not  attract  him,  or  home  ties  bound 
him  so  closely  that  he  could  not  make  a  permanent  settlement  in  America. 
But  that  he  was  pleased  with  the  life  on  this  side  of  the  water  cannot  be 
doubted,  since  when  his  son  was  a  man  he  turned  his  face  to  the  new  world 
and  to  the,  at  that  time,  west  of  this  new  world. 

Mr.  Abraham  Mann  came  to  America  in  1832.  He  came  from  Leighton- 
Buzzard,  Bedfordshire,  England,  bringing  his  family  with  him.  They  came  in 
a  sailing  vessel  and  it  took  them  seven  weeks  to  come  from  Liverpool  to  the 
States.  Besides  his  immediate  family,  which  consisted  of  his  wife,  one  daugh- 
ter, Mary  Ann,  by  a  former  marriage,  his  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  Catherine, 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  Smith.  They  made  their 
way  from  New  York  to  Detroit,  by  way  of  the  lakes,  where  they  bought  saddle 
horses  and  rode  to  Vermilion  County. 

Mr.  Mann  entered  a  claim  of  640  acres  from  the  government,  on  which 
he  built  a  log  cabin.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Mann  estate.  It  was  not 
long  before  he  had  made  an  impression  on  the  fertile  land  and,  with  his  ideals 
brought  from  the  old  world,  the  prairies  of  Illinois  took  on  the  appearance 
of  an  English  estate.  Mr.  Mann  brought  the  ideas  of  England  and  the  ad- 
vanced farming  ways  to  his  new  home,  and  his  farm  showed  the  advantage  of 
skill  in  farming.  His  farm  soon  became  a  pride  to  Vermilion  County. 

Mrs.  Mann  lived  but  seven  years  after  coming  to  America.  She  was  buried 
in  the  private  burying  grounds  located  on  the  farm.  After  her  death  the  two- 
older  children,  Mary  Ann  and  Abraham,  Jr.,  went  to  Crawfordsville  to  school, 
and  later  all  were  sent  to  England,  where  they  stayed  for  four  years.  Mr. 
Mann's  oldest  daughter,  Mary  Ann,  was  a  girl  of  perhaps  fifteen  when  Mrs. 
Mann  died,  and  from  the  time  she  came  back  from  England,  was  mistress  in 
her  father's  house.  And  a  more  gracious  mistress  was  never  in  any  man's 


282  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

home.  Miss  Mann  was  the  heart  of  that  home  as  long  as  she  lived.  She  was 
a  mother  to  the  younger  children,  a  companion  to  her  father,  and  a  model  to 
the  neighborhood. 

One  word  would  describe  Miss  Mann :  she  was  in  very  truth  a  gentlewoman. 
In  the  social  relations  of  the  life  of  this  family  she  was  a  leader.  The  hos- 
pitality of  the  Mann  home  was  limitless,  and  in  all  the  duties  devolving  upon 
the  mistress  of  such  an  establishment,  she  never  failed  to  do  her  part.  She 
had  a  custom  of  always  having  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  come  to  the 
house  during  the  holiday  week  and  giving  them  the  pleasure  of  the  season. 
When  she  lay  in  her  home  after  death  one  of  these  children,  then  a  grown 
woman,  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  community  in  saying,  while  the  tears  ran 
down  her  cheeks,  "The  glory  of  the  Mann  house  has  departed."  Miss  Mann 
was  not  only  her  father's  companion  and  counselor,  but  his  helper  as  well. 
By  reason  of  inherited  wealth,  she  was  able  to  add  to  the  extent  of  the  farm, 
and  her  income  was  freely  drawn  upon  to  that  end.  The  farm  of  640  acres 
was  increased  to  that  of  5,000  acres  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Abraham  Mann, 
Sr.  in  1875. 

During  the  time  of  his  life,  John  Mann,  the  younger  son  of  Abraham  Mann, 
shared  his  brother's  care  of  the  home  place.  After  John  Mann  died  in  1873, 
his  two  children  lived  on  the  home  place  with  their  mother,  their  aunt,  Mary 
Ann,  and  their  uncle,  Abraham  Mann.  During  this  time  Mr.  Abraham  Mann 
bought  other  farms,  but  the  original  farm  of  5,000  acres  owned  by  Mr.  Abra- 
ham Mann,  Sr.,  was  not  changed  by  additions  nor  divisions,  excepting  the 
share  the  youngest  daughter  had  received.  The  youngest  daughter  married 
Mr.  Thomas  Bennett  in  1858,  and  her  share  of  the  estate  lies  adjoining  and 
a  part  of  the  farm.  Mr.  Bennett  has  added  to  this  land  by  his  own  purchase, 
and  himself  has  a  fine  farm.  His  home  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Abraham  Mann,  Sr.  laid  out  his  grounds  in  true  English  style,  and 
during  his  lifetime  the  habits  of  the  family  were  in  keeping  with  the  place. 
His  sons,  and  later  his  one  son,  Abraham,  Jr.,  took  charge  of  the  place  after  his 
death.  A  handsome  house  and  stables  are  on  the  place  well  set  back  from  the 
highway.  It  always  has  been  a  well  appointed  English  gentleman's  estate.  The 
three  sons  of  Abraham  Mann  now  live  on  the  farm.  They,  with  their  mother, 
have  taken  charge  of  it  since  the  death  of  the  father. 

THE   ALLERTON    FARM. 

One  of  the  moneyed  men  of  Chicago  is  the  well  known  Samuel  Allerton. 
His  land  is  in  various  parts  of  Illinois,  one  farm  being  in  Vermilion  County. 
This  is  in  the  southwestern  part.  The  western  boundary  of  the  farm  is  the 
boundary  line  between  Vermilion  and  Champaign  counties.  This  farm  is  separ- 
ated from  the  Edgar  County  line  by  the  so-called  Allen  farm.  The  Allerton  farm 
comprises  four  thousand  acres,  and  at  the  time  Mr.  Allerton  bought  it,  it  was 
of  little  value  other  than  to  graze  cattle  and  fit  them  for  the  market. 

The  farm  was  the  property  of  the  famous  Sullivants  of  Champaign  County, 
and  came  into  Mr.  Allerton's  hands  through  a  misfortune  of  Mr.  Joseph  Sul- 
livant.  Mr.  Sullivant  had  taken  this  land  in  Vermilion  County  which  adjoined 


MARY  ANN  MANN 


CATHERINE  E.  (MANN)  BENNETT 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  283 

his  large  landed  possessions  in  Champaign  County,  intending  to  make  it  a 
vast  estate.  He  began  by  taking  great  pains  in  beautifying  it,  rather  than 
in  improving  it,  to  the  end  of  its  becoming  a  profit  to  him.  Soon  he  became 
involved,  and  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  land.  He  had  borrowed  money  from 
eastern  capitalists,  and  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company  closed  up  the 
matter,  Mr.  Allerton  being  the  buyer.  The  farm  comprised  four  thousand 
acres. 

After  Mr.  Allerton  bought  this  vast  extent  of  land,  he  put  Mr.  Herron  in 
charge.  Mr.  Herron  was  a  man  who  had  an  extensive  knowledge  of  condi- 
tions controlling  the  value  of  this  property,  having  long  been  acquainted  with 
this  section.  Mr.  Allerton  trusted  him  implicitly,  and  agreed  to  all  his  plans 
for  the  improvement  of  the  property.  Mr.  Herron's  plan  was  to,  in  the  first 
place,  make  it  a  well  drained  farm.  He  did  this  and  converted  the  wild  wet 
land  into  profitable  fields  of  growing  grain.  The  first  years  of  his  stay  on  the 
Allerton  farm,  Mr.  Herron  fed  cattle.  He  did  not  like  the  Texas  cattle,  but 
bought  calves  from  other  farmers  in  Illinois  and  Indiana.  Seeing  greater  pos- 
sibilities than  came  from  the  sale  of  cattle,  this  farm  was  tiled  and  cultivated 
so  that  grain  could  be  raised  in  profitable  amount. 

When  Mr.  Herron  went  to  the  farm  it  held  several  ponds  and  the  wild 
fowl  were  very  plentiful.  It  was  the  home  of  the  wild  duck  and  prairie  chicken 
and  the  paradise  of  the  hunter.  Mr.  Herron  had  no  half  way  nor  experimental 
farming  done.  Mr.  Allerton  wanted  the  farm  developed  as  it  should  be,  and 
Mr.  Herron  carried  out  his  ideas  to  his  satisfaction  as-  long  as  he  remained  on 
the  place.  When  the  time  came  that  a  station  on  the  railroad  was  possible 
to  make  a  shipping  point,  Allerton  was  built.  No  pains  were  too  great  to 
make  this  a  model  town;  churches  were  encouraged,  and  a  school  which  would 
furnish  the  best  instruction  was  helped  to  be  built.  Mrs.  Allerton  herself,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Herron,  took  a  great  interest  in  the  school,  and  made 
it  possible  to  have  special  instruction  given  in  domestic  science. 

The  problem  of  having  help  to  carry  out  the  great  project  undertaken  was 
solved  by  adopting  the  community  plan  of  farming.  This  plan  has  been  well 
tried,  and  to  Mr.  Allerton's  satisfaction.  The  farm  is  divided  into  a  number 
of  small  farms,  each  of  which  is  put  under  the  care  of  one  man.  These  farms 
are  carried  on  under  the  partial,  at  least,  supervision  of  the  man  in  charge  of 
the  entire  place.  The  financial  profit  of  each  farm  is  shared  by  the  farmer 
and  Mr.  Allerton.  Mr.  Allerton  does  not  spend  his  time  on  this  farm,  nor 
has  ever  spent  much  time  there.  His  home  is  in  Chicago,  but  he  is  interested 
in  the  farm  in  Vermilion  County,  as  he  is  in  those  he  owns  in  other  localities. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
EARLY  MILLS  AND  MILLING. 

FIRST   CORNCRACKER    MILL   WAS    MADE   BY   JAMES  BUTLER   IN    1823 THE   GILBERT'S 

MILL,    BUILT    IN    1828   AT    DANVILLE — MILL    ON    THE    SALT    FORK,    1826 SHEP- 
HERD'S    MILL — BRAZELTTON'S    MILL — WHITSILL'S    AND    HOWARD'S    MILLS    ON 

THE   MIDDLE  FORK THE   HIGGINSVILLE    MILL — KIRKPATRICK's    MILL THE   OLD 

KYGER    MILL AMOS   WILLIAM'S    MILL THE    HALE-GALUSHU    SAWMILL STEAM 

SAWMILL    AT    DANVILLE THE     WRIGHT-COOK  FORD    SAWMILL THE     HAWORTH 

MILL THE    MENELY    MILL THE    MYERSVILLE    MILL — THE    MILL    AT    ALVIN— 

THE    JAMES    GEORGE    MILL    AT     MIDDLE    FORK THE    JENKIN's     MILL    ON     THE 

VERMILION THE  OLD  WOOLEN   MILL THE  STEAM   MILL  AT  GEORGETOWN    BUILT 

IN    1850 THE    AMBER    MILL DOUGHERTY    MILL    AT    FAIRMOUNT THE    WOOD'S 

MILL  ON   THE   NORTH    FORK THE  LUSTRO    MILL   AT   DANVILLE THE  DANVILLE 

MILL THE   GARLAND   STEAM    STONE    SAWMILL. 

The  first  corncracker  mill  used  was  made  by  James  Butler  in  1823.  It 
consisted  of  a  gum,  or  section  of  a  hollow  tree,  some  four  feet  long  by  two 
feet  in  diameter.  In  this  was  set  a  stationary  stone  with  a  flat  surface.  The 
revolving  burr,  like  the  other,  was  selected  with  reference  to  its  fitness,  from 
the  granite  boulders — or  as  the  old  settlers  would  designate  them,  "Nigger- 
heads" — distributed  freely  over  the  ground  everywhere.  The  two  were  broken 
and  dressed  into  circular  form,  and  the  grinding  surfaces  reduced  and  bur- 
rows sunk  into  them  so  as  to  make  cutting  edges,  by  such  rude  instruments 
as  Mr.  Butler  could  manufacture  for  the  purpose. 

A  hole  was  drilled  near  the  rim  on  the  upper  side  of  the  rotary  burr.  A 
pole  was  inserted  in  this,  while  the  other  end  was  placed  in  a  hole  in  a  beam 
some  six  or  eight  feet  directly  above  the  center  of  the  hopper,  and  thus  by 
taking  hold  of  the  pole  with  the  hand  near  the  burr  and  exerting  a  push  and 
pull  movement,  a  rotary  motion  was  given  to  the  mill.  The  capacity  was  about 
one  bushel  of  corn  per  hour,  with  a  lively  muscular  man  to  run  it.  It  served 
the  wants  of  the  people  at  Butler's  Point  until  the  water  mill  at  Denmark 
was  made,  in  1826,  when  it  was  taken  to  Big  Grove,  in  Champaign  County,  by 
Robert  Trickle. 

The  well  known  "Gilbert  mill"  on  the  North  Fork,  at  Danville,  near  the 
lower  end  of  Main  street,  was  commenced  by  Robert  Trickle  and  sold  to 

284 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  285 

Solomon  Gilbert  before  it  was  completed.  This  was  a  log  building,  and  the 
stones  were  cut  out  of  such  as  could  be  found  nearby.  This  answered  the 
purpose  of  the  neighborhood  for  a  time,  but  it  was  not  until  a  sawmill  was 
attached  two  years  later,  that  much  profit  was  realized.  Grain  was  cheap  and 
the  commissions  on  grinding  was  necessarily  small.  The  mill  was  completed 
and  in  working  order  in  1828.  The  bolting  was  done  by  hand,  and  was  a 
slow  process,  but  gave  work  to  the  boys  who  would  otherwise  have  been  idle. 

All  these  old  sawmills  used  the  "gate-saw."  The  saw  was  fixed  into  a 
frame  which  was  about  eight  feet  high  by  six  feet  wide,  made  so  strong  that 
it  could  hold  the  saw  firmly  to  the  work,  and  so  heavy  that  it  moved  up  and 
down  very  leisurely,  which  gave  rise  to  the  expression  that  it  would  "go  up 
in  the  spring  and  go  down  with  the  fall  freshets."  It  moved  in  grooves  cut 
in  the  upright  timbers.  Such  a  saw  would  not  be  used  now,  but  at  that  time 
men  who  were  accustomed  to  their  use,  could  saw  two  thousand  feet  a  day, 
and  a  thousand  feet  of  lumber  for  a  day's  work  was  doing  very  well.  The 
price  for  sawing  was  always  fifty  cents  per  hundred  feet,  or  a  share;  so  it 
is  readily  seen  that  a  sawmill  was  a  profitable  piece  of  property  to  own. 

A  mill  on  the  Salt  Fork  really  antedates  the  Gilbert  mill.  This  mill  was 
in  operation  in  1826,  two  years  before  the  Gilbert  mill,  and  it  served  a  large 
territory.  The  mill  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  just  north  of  the  one 
built  later.  This  mill  was  built  of  logs  and,  as  did  all  other  mills  at  that  time, 
went  by  water  power.  Its  patronage  extended  as  far  as  into  McLean  County, 
people  coming  that  distance  to  get  their  grinding  done.  This  mill  continued  to 
serve  the  people  until,  in  1837,  Mr.  John  Shepherd,  who  had  come  to  Illinois 
the  previous  year  and  had  money  to  put  into  such  an  enterprise,  employed 
Aaron  Dalbey  to  build  a  new  mill.  This  was  done,  and  equipped  at"  a  cost  of 
$3,000,  a  large  sum  for  those  days.  Mr.  Shepherd,  dying  before  he  could 
realize  any  profit  from  the  mill,  it  was  bought  by  Mr.  Parrish,  who  operated 
it  for  a  time  and  then  sold  it  to  John  Hay.  He  operated  it  until  1873,  when 
he  sold  it  to  C.  M.  Berkley. 

This  building  which  served  as  a  profitable  mill  so  long  was  thirty  by  forty- 
two  and  a  half  feet,  and  had  both  water  and  steam  power.  The  supply  of 
water  was  so  constant  that  the  steam  was  seldom  used.  The  building  was 
moved  from  the  position  that  it  first  occupied  to  the  bank  of  the  creek — (but 
a  short  distance)  soon  after  Berkley  bought  it. 

Jacob  Brazelton  put  up  a  horse  mill  at  his  place  near  the  Vermilion  at 
an  early  day,  which,  though  a  cheap  affair,  as  were  all  these  horse  mills,  yet 
did  better  than  going  so  far  to  have  the  corn  ground. 

The  first  carding  mill  is  credited  to  William  Miliken,  who  built  one  in 
about  1830.  It  was  indeed  a  primitive  affair.  It  was  run  by  tread  power,  and 
when  he  wanted  to  get  up  power  he  had  to  hunt  up  the  oxen  which  ran  in  the 
bush,  and  these  were  not  readily  found.  If  they  had  happened  to  have  wan- 
dered over  to  the  river  for  water,  which  they  were  apt  to  do,  it  took  days  to 
reach  the  required  power  to  run  the  mill.  Meanwhile  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  to  wait  for  the  desired  material.  This  primitive  mill  has  long  since 
passed,  together  with  the  industry  which  made  the  demand  for  it.  Mr.  Whit- 
sill  built  a  mill  on  Middle  Fork  in  about  1832  or  1833.  He  operated  it  several 


286  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

years,  and  then  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  McGees.  It  finally  had  to  be 
abandoned  because  of  not  being  kept  in  repair.  It  was  a  grist-mill  at  first, 
with  a  sawmill  added  later. 

Another  old  mill  on  Middle  Fork  was  built  by  James  Howell,  who  operated 
it  a  short  time  and  died;  and  his  son  then  operated  it,  and  he  died.  Then  Mr. 
Downing  took  it,  and  next  James  Cunningham  ran  it  until  it  became  useless. 
This  was  a  sawmill  at  first,  but  it  finally  had  a  corncracker  added  before  it 
was  abandoned. 

Another  sawmill  in  the  county  was  built  this  same  year  of  1832.  It  was 
built  by  Naffer  &  Smalley  three-fourths  of  a  mile  southeast  of  Higginsville. 
It  did  good  work,  and  was  much  in  demand  in  sawing  up  the  timber.  Hard 
wood  lumber  was  much  in  demand  for  fencing,  building  and  furniture.  Later 
a  grist-mill  was  added  to  this  and  did  good  work,  and  was  a  great  convenience. 
This  mill  was  in  operation  until  1860,  or  perhaps  later,  but  long  ago  every 
evidence  of  its  being  had  disappeared. 

There  was  a  water  mill  built  on  Stoney  Creek  in  1835  by  Robert  Kirkpatrick, 
which  was  operated  for  some  years.  It  was  a  sawmill,  and  was  run  only  by 
Kirkpatrick  himself.  One  of  the  best  mills  of  its  time  was  what  was  known 
as  the  old  Kyger  mill.  Situated  as  it  was,  with  surroundings  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful scenery,  it  was  a  pleasing  spot,  and  a  favorite  place,  even  after  its  use- 
fulness as  a  mill  was  passed.  The  first  mill  upon  this  site  was  built  by  William 
Sheets,  of  Georgetown  and  Thomas  Morgan,  in  1835.  When  Mr.  Kyger  came 
into  possession  of  the  mill,  he  built  a  large  frame  and  put  in  new  machinery. 

Mr.  Amos  Williams  has  left  a  number  of  letters  and  other  papers  from 
the  contents  of  which  there  is  reason  to  infer  that  he  was  much  interested  in 
milling,  but  it  is  difficult  to  learn  how  many  mills  he  had,  and  where  they  were 
located.  Whether  he  bought  or  built  the  one  long  known  as  the  "Cotton's 
mill"  is  not  known,  but  that  it  was  in  his  possession  at  one  time  is  not  to  be 
disputed.  It  was  in  1836  that  the  dam  was  put  in  at  this  place,  at  any  rate, 
and  that  is  a  probable  date  of  its  being  begun.  This  mill  was  built  on  the 
main  stream  of  the  Vermilion  river,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  date  fixed  for 
its  beginning  is  too  late,  and  it  is  the  date  of  a  second  dam.  Mr.  Williams 
did  not  prove  as  successful  as  a  miller  as  he  was  in  many  other  things,  and 
the  mill  was  a  heavy  expense  with  little  returns,  as  long  as  he  lived.  After 
his  death  Mr.  Cotton  bought  this  mill,  refitted  it,  and  continued  to  run  it  until 
1867.  This  mill  had  a  carding  machine  attached  to  it.  After  the  building  of 
the  new  mills  began,  Mr.  Cotton  thought  he  could  use  his  water  privilege  to 
greater  profit,  and  discontinued  the  use  of  the  old  mill.  The  fall  was  about 
six  feet  and  gave  head  sufficient  for  more  modern  wheels. 

Mr.  Hale  came  to  Danville  in  the  thirties,  bringing  some  money  with  him. 
As  a  general  thing,  the  early  settler  did  not  have  much  money.  This  was  the 
first  capitalist  to  come  to  Danville  on  record.  Since  there  was  no  better  way 
to  invest  his  money,  he  built  a  sawmill  in  1836.  He  took  a  Mr.  Galusha  as  a 
partner,  and  his  investment  was  profitable.  Had  he  entered  less  land,  with 
the  profits  of  his  sawmill,  he  would  have  become  very  wealthy;  but  he  made 
the  mistake  many  others  have,  and  became  possessed  of  more  land  than  he 
had  money  to  pay  taxes  upon. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  287 

In  the  course  of  time  it  was  considered  a  need  of  the  community  to  have 
a  steam  sawmill  located  at  Danville.  A  company  was  organized,  consisting 
of  Thomas  Willison,  Thomas  McKibben,  J.  H.  Murphy  and  G.  W.  Cassidy, 
and  perhaps  one  or  two  others,  and  a  mill  of  that  kind  was  built.  This  steam 
sawmill  was  located  on  the  Vermilion  Bottoms  just  below  where  the  Wabash  Rail- 
road crosses  the  river.  This  promising  improvement  to  Danville  was  destined  never 
to  profit  its  projectors,  however.  The  panic  of  1837  struck  it,  and  it  was  suf- 
fered to  go  into  decay ;  even  the  logs  which  were  drawn  there  to  be  sawed  into 
lumber,  were  left  to  decay  in  the  yard. 

Eli  Thornton  built  a  water  mill  on  the  Little  Vermilion  at  the  Wright-Cook 
ford  in  1837.  This  was  both  a  gristmill  and  a  sawmill.  The  need  of  the  latter 
was  more  particular  at  this  time  because  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  trees 
had  been  killed  the  previous  season.  The  frost  was  so  severe  in  June  of  that 
year  that  the  leaves  of  the  trees  were  killed,  and  the  trees,  many  of  them,  were 
also  killed.  Thornton  ran  this  mill  until  1857,  when  it  was  abandoned  as  a 
mill  and  the  frame  of  the  building  was  sold  to  James  Frazier  for  a  barn. 
There  was  a  mill  built  at  Cook's  ford  before  this.  Jonathan  Haworth  built 
one  in  1830.  This  mill  Isaac  Cook  bought  and  sold  to  Eli  Patty,  who  operated 
it  as  long  as  it  could  be  used. 

With  advancing  civilization,  the  water  at  this  place  became  too  low  to  run 
a  mill.  A  mill  was  built  in  the  more  northern  part  of  the  county  the  same 
year  that  Eli  Thornton  built  his  at  the  Wright-Cook  ford.  Mr.  Menely,  him- 
self a  practical  millwright,  built  a  sawmill  at  a  little  way  down  stream  from 
Marysville.  Menely  ran  this  mill  for  some  time-,  but  afterward  sold  it  to 
Smith.  While  it  was  the  property  of  Smith,  J.  D.  Shepler  was  the  miller.  In 
about  1860  the  mill  burned.  Smith  rebuilt  it  and  sold  it.  In  1872  a  run  of 
stone  was  put  in. 

The  year  after  Menely  built  his  mill  down  stream  from  Marysville,  Myers- 
ville  was  made  a  possibility  by  the  building  of  the  Chrisman  mill  at  that 
place.  A  dozen  families  were  settled  in  this  neighborhood,  and  Peter  Chris- 
man came  from  Indiana  and  bought  a  mill  site  at  that  place,  and  began  the 
building  of  what  he  meant  should-  be  a  combined  saw  and  grist  mill.  He 
began  his  work  on  the  building  at  once,  but  before  the  grist  mill  was  begun 
a  sad  accident  prevented  further  work  upon  it.  A  sharp  ridge  lay  transversely 
to  the  mill-race  which  the  men  were  cutting,  and  it  was  decided  to  tunnel  it 
to  avoid  removing  the  great  amount  of  earth  in  the  way.  Chrisman's  son 
Joseph  drove  the  digging  too  far  before  he  propped  the  great  weight  over- 
head and  it  broke  down,  crushing  him  beneath.  This  accident  occurred  in 
February,  1839,  and  it  so  affected  the  father  that  he  never  finished  the  build- 
ing, but  sold  the  mill  in  the  following  fall  to  a  man  living  in  Indiana.  This 
man's  name  was  Koontz.  He  employed  John  and  Samuel  Myers  to  go  and 
complete  the  work  which  was  begun.  These  Myers  brothers  were  practical 
millwrights,  and  soon  bought  out  Koontz,  moving  their  families  to  the  place 
which  afterward  was  given  their  name.  These  brothers  were  enterprising  men, 
and  besides  running  the  sawmill,  they  at  once  put  in  a  run  of  .stones  and  also 
set  a  carding  mill  in  operation.  In  June,  1842,  they  set  a  carding  mill  in  opera- 
tion. In  June,  1843,  they  raised  the  grist  mill.  They  owned  and  operated  this 


288  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

mill  for  nearly  twenty  years.  After  making  much  profit,  they  sold  the  mill 
to  Joseph  Smith.  By  this  time  only  the  grist  mill  was  in  use.  It  has  been 
some  years  since  this  old  mill  has  been  run  to  profit,  yet  it  still  stands,  and 
some  one  or  another  comes  along  occasionally  and  fixes  it  up,  and  finds  work 
can  be  had  from  it  even  yet. 

A  little  northwest  of  Alvin  there  is  yet  to  be  seen  the  old  historic  mill 
around  which  cling  tales  of  prosperity  and  tragedies.  It  was  built  by  Mr. 
Clawson  in  1838  as  a  sawmill,  and  later  was  also  made  a  grist  mill.  After  the 
accident  at  the  Chrisman  mill  which  cost  young  Chrisman  his  life  and  the 
mill  was  sold  in  consequence,  Mr.  Chrisman  bought  the  Clawson  mill  at  Alvin. 
The  Clawsons  ran  this  mill  nearly  ten  years  and  then  sold  it  to  John  Hoobler 
from  Perrysville,  Indiana.  In  1851  Hoobler  sold  the  mill  to  Jacob  T.  Ross 
and  from  that  time  it  was  called  the  Ross  mill.  To  accommodate  his  neigh- 
bors, Ross  put  in  a  small  stock  of  goods  and  made  the  first  store  in  the  town- 
ship. It  was  here  that  the  town  meetings  were  held,  and  here  also  were  the 
elections. 

In  1858  John  L.  Persons  bought  the  mill  and  operated  it  until  his  tragic 
death  in  1862.  The  circumstances  of  his  death  were  as  follows :  A  man  by 
the  name  of  Miller  had  an  account  with  Persons  of  less  than  five  dollars.  In 
making  settlement  a  dispute  arose  between  him  and  Persons.  Being  very  angry, 
Miller  laid  his  pocketbook  down  and  went  home  without  it.  When  he  dis- 
covered that  his  pocketbook  was  missing,  and  remembered  that  he  had  left 
it  at  the  mill,  he  would  not  return  for  it,  but  made  an  agreement  with  three 
men  to  get  it  for  him.  The  agreement  was  that  the  men,  whose  names  were 
Sanders,  Smith  and  Moore,  should  go  to  the  mill  after  the  pocketbook,  and 
in  case  they  did  not  succeed  in  getting  it,  they  should  kill  Mr.  Persons.  The 
men  said  they  would  go  together  and  demand  the  pocketbook,  and  all  expected 
they  would  have  no  trouble  in  getting  it.  Miller  gave  them  a  gallon  of  whiskey 
and  agreed  to  give  them  half  of  what  was  in  the  pocketbook.  There  was  about 
ten  dollars  there.  Moore,  for  some  reason,  had  the  custody  of  the  whiskey 
and  drank  more  than  his  share  before  the  others  were  ready  to  go.  He  started 
on  the  errand  alone,  and  without  asking  Persons  for  the  pocketbook,  killed 
him  on  sight.  After  Moore  killed  Persons,  he  hunted  up  the  others  and  told 
them  their  help  was  not  needed.  Moore  was  arrested,  but  turned  states  evi- 
dence, and  thus  escaped  punishment.  On  the  death  of  Persons,  the  property 
went  into  the  hands  of  Sangster  &  Swazy  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  about  1867 
John  Mains  bought  it. 

About  1839  James  George  built  a  grist-mill  on  the  Middle  Fork  and  operated 
it  eight  or  ten  years.  He  then  sold  it  to  Mr.  Watts.  Mr.  Watts  ran  this  mill 
for  seven  or  eight  years,  and  sold  it  to  Mr.  Phillips.  Mr.  Phillips  kept  it  for 
a  while  and  sold  it  to  Abisha  Sanders,  who  let  it  run  down.  Later  Doane  & 
Byerly  bought  it  and  put  it  into  profitable  working  order,  and  sold  it  to  Mr. 
Swift  of  Danville.  A  watermill  was  built  on  the  Vermilion  by  William  Jenkins 
about  1840.  It  was  a  good  mill  and  did  good  work.  The  water  at  this  point 
rose  rapidly  and  at  times  was  very  high.  So  uncertain  was  the  water  here  that 
the  bridge  was  nearly  thirty-five  feet  high.  With  all  precautions  taken  the  mill 
was  washed  away  at  high-water  time.  An  incident  of  this  bridge  is  to  the  effect 


OLD  CHRISTMAN  MILL 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  289 

that  while  a  boy  on  a  wagon  load  of  corn,  was  crossing  it,  the  bridge  broke  and 
the  wagon  fell  into  the  water;  the  bridge  was  ruined,  the  wagon  disabled,  but 
strange  to  say,  the  boy  was  not  hurt.  The  old  woolen  mill  on  the  banks  of  the 
North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  at  Danville  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the 
landmarks  of  Vermilion  County.  The  building  yet  stands,  but  the  machinery 
has  all  been  sold  and  since  the  attempt  at  a  box  factory  a  few  years  ago,  no 
use  has  been  made  of  it.  This  mill  was  built  in  1844,  by  Hobson  and  Ailsworth, 
and  went  through  many  hands  and  many  changes  of  remodeling  in  the  thirty 
years  before  Riggs  &  Menig  took  it  in  1877,  and  made  a  woolen  mill  of  it.  It 
was  first  operated  by  hand  power,  then  by  water  power  and  at  last  by  steam 
power.  Its  supply  of  water  by  the  series  of  fine  springs  on  the  bluff  above  it, 
added  to  its  value.  This  mill  was  probably  better  known  than  any  other  in 
the  county,  and  during  the  time  it  was  operated  by  Mr.  Menig,  its  product  was 
a  pride  and  could  compete  with  any  in  the  country.  The  large  steam  mill  at 
Georgetown  was  built  by  Henderson,  Kyger,  &  Morgan,  in  1850.  It  was  built 
forty  by  fifty-three  stories  high,  and  had  three  run  of  stones.  It  was  a  great  suc- 
cess and  was  in  active  operation  until  the  same  firm,  Henderson  &  Kyger 
built  the  first  grist-mill  in  Danville.  Later  Mr.  M.  M.  Wright  bought  it  and  ran 
it  for  some  time.  By  1859  the  county  had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  more 
mills  were  needed.  Blount  township  had  grown  and  a  grist  mill  was  much  needed. 
It  was  then  that  Henry  and  Andrew  Wood  built  a  sawmill  and  a  grist-mill  on 
North  Fork,  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the  township.  It  was  a  good  mill 
with  two  run  of  stones,  and  had  enough  water  to  run  almost  all  the  time. 

Another  sawmill  was  built  in  Blount  township  in  1861.  This  was  built  on  sec- 
tion 26  (20x12)  and  run  by  steam.  Anderson  come  from  Michigan,  and  bought 
sixty  acres  of  timberland,  and  cut  it  off  for  lumber.  It  was  a  splendid  piece  of 
timber.  He  ran  the  mill  here  about  eight  years,  and  then  sold  it  to  William  and 
John  Lee,  who  moved  it  to  section  36.  This  year  was  the  time  of  building  an- 
other mill  at  Danville.  There  was  no  longer  any  need  to  locate  the  mills  on 
the  banks  of  streams  because  the  power  adopted  was  steam.  So  it  was  the 
Amber  Mill  was  built  near  the  Wabash  station.  It  was  built  in  1866  at  an 
original  cost  of  $28,000.  This  mill  was  burned  in  1874  and  rebuilt  by  Bowers  & 
Co.  Later  it  was  sold  to  D.  Gregg  who  ran  it  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
This  was  a  fine  mill  and  produced  an  excellent  grade  of  flour.  The  building 
was  three  stories  and  a  half  and  basement  built  of  brick,  and  was  forty  by  a 
hundred  on  the  ground.  It  was  remodeled  in  1878,  substituting  the  new  process 
and  making  it  a  first-class  mill  in  every  respect,  which  it  continued  to  be  as  long 
as  it  was  operated  by  Mr.  Gregg.  The  building  lay  idle  for  some  time  after 
Mr.  Gregg's  death  and  in  1902  it  was  remodeled  and  used  for  the  wholesale 
groceries. 

John  Dougherty  built  a  grist  mill  at  Fairmount  in  1868.  It  was  forty  by  fifty 
and  supplied  with  three  run  of  stones.  The  mill  under  his  management  was  a 
great  success.  It  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $15,000.  The  Globe  Mill  was  a  conspicious 
building  in  Danville  for  many  years.  It  was  built  by  Knight  &  Fairchild  in 
1870.  It  was  40  by  80,  and  well  equipped  with  the  "patent  process"  machinery. 
It  had  four  run  of  stones.  This  mill  was  known  as  the  "Lustro"  after  the  firm 
of  Smith  &  Giddings  took  it.  Mr.  Joseph  Smith,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm, 


290  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

had  been  connected  with  the  mill  a  year  before  the  firm  was  established  in  1875. 
During  the  proprietorship  of  Smith  &  Giddings,  the  output  of  the  mill  was  about 
40  barrels  per  day.  This  mill  was  operated  until  1894,  during  which  year  the 
partnership  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  both  Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Giddings. 
The  building  was  burned  the  same  year  and  was  not  rebuilt.  A  large  and,  in 
every  respect  a  first  class  mill  was  built  at  Rossville  in  1875,  by  Tittle  and  Ross. 
The  City  Mill  in  Danville  was  built  on  Vermilion  street  opposite  the  jail,  by 
Samuel  Bowers.  It  was  a  frame  building  60  foot  front  on  Vermilion  street  and 
55  on  South  street.  This  mill  is  better  known  as  the  Wright  mill,  or  the  Dan- 
ville mill.  Mr.  Wright  bought  this  mill  in  the  early  seventies  and  under  his 
supervision  this  industry  became  an  important  factor  of  the  city's  growth.  He 
constantly  enlarged  it. 


THE   CLAYS  AND  CLAY   INDUSTRIES  OF  VERMILION   COUNTY. 

Compiled  by  F.  W.  Butterworth. 

Although  the  use  of  clay  for  the  manufacture  of  articles  of  utility  or  orna- 
ment is  one  of  the  oldest  crafts  of  the  world,  yet  the  various  operations  connected 
with  it  have  never  yet  been  reduced  to  an  exact  science,  and  definite  data  as  to 
character,  accessibility,  or  methods  of  working,  is  very  scarce. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  description  of  the  clays  and  clay  industries  of  this 
county,  it  would  probably  be  pertinent  to  give  a  little  time  to  a  brief  description 
of  clays  in  general. 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  word  clay  is  used  in  its  broadest  sense  to 
designate  any  silicate  of  alumina  from  which  ware  of  any  description  can  be 
manufactured. 

No  really  satisfactory  classification  has  yet  been  proposed,  but  the  following 
grouping  is  perhaps  the  best  suited  to  general  purposes,  and  this,  therefore,  is 
taken  from  the  Geological  Report  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  Bulletin  No.  9,  as 
adopted  from  Orton  &  Wheeler: 


GENERAL  CLASSIFICATION  OF  CLAYS. 

[Kaolin. 

Whiteware  Clays.  -I  China  Clay. 

[Ball  Clay. 


High  Grade  Clays 


f  Plastic  Fire  Clay. 
Refractory  Clays.  -I  Flint  Clay. 

[Refractory  Shale. 

Pottery  Clays. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 


291 


Low  Grade  Clays 


Stoneware  Clays  and  Shales. 
Paving-brick  Clays  and  Shales. 
Sewer  Pipe  Clays  and  Shales. 
Roofing  Tile  Clays  and  Shales. 

(Terra  Cotta  Clays  and  Shales. 
Common  Brick  Clays  and  Shales. 
Drain  Tile  Clays  and  Shales. 


Vitrifying  Clays. 

Brick  Clays. 

Gumbo  Clays. 

Loes  and  Adobe  Clays. 

Slip  Clays. 

Fullers  Earth. 


This  classification  will  perhaps  be  best  understood  by  identifying  the  various 
kinds  of  clay  with  the  wares  they  are  best  suited  to  produce. 

Taking  the  first  group  of  "High  Grade  Clays,"  all  of  the  "Whiteware  and 
Pottery  Clays"  are  used  to  produce  articles  of  comparatively  light  weight,  where 
the  cost  of  procuring  the  raw  material  is  a  very  small  factor  in  the  total  value 
of  the  article,  and  generally  speaking  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  wares  com- 
bining ornament  and  utility,  such  as  art-ware  of  all  descriptions,  pottery,  china- 
ware,  porcelains,  sanitary-ware,  insulating  material,  etc. 

Refractory  Clays,  as  the  name  indicates,  find  their  use  in  the  making  of 
wares  of  high  fire  and  heat  resisting  qualities,  such  as  fire  brick,  retorts,  furnace, 
stove  linings,  etc. 

The  value  of  ware  produced  in  the  State  of  Illinois  during  the  year  1908, 
(the  last  statistics  available  at  this  writing,)  from  the  first  group  of  clays  was 
$1,008,638.00,  but  unfortunately  Vermilion  County  contributed  nothing  to  this, 
as  up  to  date  no  so-called  "High  Grade  Clays"  have  been  discovered  in  the 
territory. 

From  the  second  group,  called  "Low  Grade  Clays,"  are  produced  those  wares 
in  which  the  cost  of  procuring  the  raw  material  is  a  large  factor  in  determin- 
ing their  value,  as  face,  paving  and  common  brick,  sewer  pipe,  terra  cotta,  roof- 
ing tile,  drain  tile,  etc. 

The  value  of  the  products  made  from  this  group  in  the  State  of  Illinois  for 
1908  was  $9,084,338.00,  and  of  this  amount  practically  ten  per  cent  was  produced 
from  Vermilion  County;  hence,  although  this  group  of  clays  is  called  "Low 
Grade,"  it  is  a  fact  that  they  are  of  more  importance  to  a  community  than  clays 
of  higher  grades  and  value  per  ton. 

Referring  to  the  classification,  and  having  eliminated  from  consideration  all 
of  the  so-called  "High  Grade  Clays,"  because  there  are  none  available  in  this 
territory,  modern  practice,  as  applied  to  the  location  of  clay  plants,  forces  us 
to  confine  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  as  connected  with  Vermilion  County,  to 
"Vitrifying  Clays"  for  the  following  reasons : 


292  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Slip-Clays  and  Fullers  Earth  are  of  comparitively  slight  value,  and  so  far 
have  not  been  found  in  this  district. 

Prior  to  1890  practically  all  of  the  "Low  Grade  Clays"  wares,  such  as  brick, 
sewer  pipe,  terra  cotta,  etc.,  more  especially  brick,  were  made  from  Gumbo,  Loes 
or  Brick  Clays.  These  being  of  late  geological  formation  (Quaternary  or  Tertiary 
periods),  the  deposits  are  not  uniform  in  quality,  or  of  very  great  depth,  hence 
the  plants  were  of  necessity  small  and  scattered  over  a  wide  area. 

Since  the  discovery,  however,  of  the  utility  of  the  "Vitrifying  Clays,"  con- 
sisting mostly  of  the  shales  and  under-clays  of  the  carboniferous  period,  a  great 
change  has  been  made  in  the  industry.  Because  of  the  uniformity  of  these  de- 
posits, and  of  their  great  depth,  enormous  supplies  of  raw  material  are  avail- 
able close  to  the  plants.  Capital  has,  therefore,  been  able  to  concentrate  and 
instead  of  a  number  of  scattered,  horse-power  brick-yards,  we  find  large  plants, 
equpped  with  the  best  of  appliances,  using  steam  shovels  for  digging  their  ma- 
terial, and  with  all  of  the  modern  labor  and  fuel  saving  devices,  as  recommended 
by  the  best  engineering  practice. 

Hence,  although  it  is  true  that  the  Loes,  Gumbo  and  Brick  Clays  are  still 
being  used  to  some  extent,  particularly  in  the  Cook  County  region,  it  is  still  a 
fact  that  the  product  manufactured  from  them  is  very  inferior,  and  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  the  modern  Ceramist  would  recommend  the  investment  of  capital  in  a 
plant  to  work  any  thing  except  the  "Vitrifying  Clays"  of  the  Carboniferous 
period,  consisting  of  the  shales  above  and  the  clays  beneath  the  coal  strata. 

In  considering,  therefore,  the  Clays  of  Vermilion  County,  we  can  safely  con- 
fine the  discussion  to  the  coal  measure  or  caboniferous  materials,  and  hence  the 
geological  section  becomes  of  prime  importance: 

SKETCH   OF  GEOLOGICAL   SECTION. 

No.  i,  Glacial  deposits  up  to  200  feet,  not  workable. 

No.  2,  Workable  shale  5  to  100  feet. 

No.  3,  No.  7  coal,  18  inches  to  7  feet. 

No.  4,  A.  Under-clay,  not  workable,  3  to  10  feet. 

No.  5,  Shale  with  lime-stone  layers  in  places,  10  to  25  feet. 

No.  6,  No.  6  coal,  i  to  12  feet. 

No.  7,  B.  Under-clay,  not  workable,  3  to  10  feet. 

No.  8,  Sand-stones  and  shale,  3  to  25  feet. 

No.  9,  Sandy  shale,  20  to  40  feet. 

No.  10,  Blue  argillacious  shale,  200  feet. 

GEOLOGICAL   SECTION    APPLYING   TO    VERMILION    COUNTY,    ILLINOIS. 

Of  the  above  No.  i  is  of  no  interest  to  the  clay  industry,  as  it  consists  al- 
most entirely  of  gravels,  sands,  hardpans,  and  the  kind  of  materials  which  could 
not  possibly  be  worked  into  any  clay  products.  In  every  instance  No.  i  forms 
the  stripping,  which  must  be  gotten  rid  of  before  any  of  the  underlying  materials 
can  be  worked. 

In  many  instances,  where  Nos.  2  and  9  are  available  in  the  low  grounds, 
bottoms  and  second-bottoms  they  are  covered  with  a  very  heavy  deposit  of  No. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  293 

i,  and  in  no  place  in  the  county  are  any  of  the  workable  strata  free  from  a 
more  or  less  extensive  over-burden  of  this  glacial  drift. 

No.  2  is  a  plastic,  blue,  argillacious,  red  burning,  shale,  vitrifying  at  about 
1,950  degrees  F.,  with  a  very  slight  range  between  the  point  of  vitrification  and 
the  point  of  fusion,  making  it  a  very  dangerous  shale  to  work.  This  stratum  is 
valuable  only  for  common  building  brick,  and  is  being  extensively  used  for 
this  purpose  by  the  Western  Brick  Company,  at  Danville,  who  are  manufac- 
turing upwards  of  250,000  daily. 

At  the  particular  point  where  this  Company  is  producing,  it  varies  from 
20  to  35  feet  in  thickness,  and  it  is  very  unusual  to  find  it  exceeling  50  feet  in 
depth,  except  in  and  around  Glenburn,  where  it  attains  its  maximum  of  about 
100  feet,  including  from  15  to  25  feet  of  solid  sand-stone,  which  forms  the  top 
of  the  deposit. 

The  bottom  35  to  40  feet  of  this  shale  analyzes  as  follows : 

ANALYSIS  OF  NO.   2. 

Si  02    54.38 

A12  O,    21.61 

Fe,   O.    7.55 

CaO    1.30 

MgO    2.34 

Na,  O    2.24 

K,  O    0.79 

Moisture  at   100"   C 1.70 

Loss  on  ignition,  combined,  H2  O  and  CO2 7.84 


9975 

Although  this  analysis  compares  favorably  with  some  of  the  best  paving 
brick  shales  of  the  country,  yet  the  infusible  sillica  particles  seem  to  be  very  fine 
in  texture,  making  the  burned  clay  body  too  brittle  for  this  class  of  clay  prod- 
ucts, and  the  range  in  temperature  between  the  point  of  vitrification  and  the 
point  of  fusion  being  so  small,  renders  this  shale  practically  useless  for  sewer 
pipe,  or  any  of  the  kindred  wares. 

The  under-day,  No.  4,  designated  at  "A,"  although  of  sufficient  depth,  is  of 
exceedingly  poor  quality,  is  not  refractory,  and  is  impregnated  with  lime  nodules, 
which  of  course  would  make  it  impractical  for  any  purpose. 

The  No.  5  deposit  is  a  dark,  slaty  shale,  and  forms  the  roof  for  the  exten- 
sive mining  operations  of  No.  6  coal.  In  nearly  every  instance  this  shale  is 
mixed  with  layers  of  from  two  to  twelve  inches  of  limestone. 

No.  7  is  an  under-clay,  designated  as  "B."  Although  some  better  than 
No.  4,  it  is  not  sufficiently  refractory  to  make  it  valuable  for  any  fire-resisting 
ware,  and  has  neither  the  strength  nor  color  requisite  for  the  manufacture  of 
sewer  pipe,  light-colored  brick,  or  for  any  of  the  products  in  which  under-clays 
are  usually  used.  Concretions  of  lime  are  often  prevalent,  making  it  a  dangerous 
material  for  any  purpose. 


294  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

In  almost  every  instance  the  first  20  feet  of  material  under  No.  7  deposit 
contains  hard,  bulky  sandstone,  too  gritty  to  be  worked  in  with  the  underlying 
shale,  and  with  not  sufficient  weather-resisting  properties  to  make  it  valuable  as 
a  building  stone. 

Quite  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  stratum  has  been  quarried  southeast 
of  Danville  and  used  for  building  stone,  with,  however,  but  indifferent  results. 
The  first  action  of  the  weather  is  to  harden  it,  as  is  usual  in  sandstone,  but 
after  repeated  freezing  and  thawing,  disintegration  commences. 

The  analysis  of  this  sandstone  is  as  follows: 

ANALYSIS  OF  SANDSTONE  NO.  8. 

Si   O2    68.24 

A12   O3    9.66 

Fe2  03   5.58 

Ca   O    5.50 

Mg  O    2.27 

Loss  on  ignition   : 9.30 


100.55 

No.  9  is  the  most  valuable,  general  purpose  shale  in  the  entire  coal  measures 
accessible  in  Vermilion  County,  but  unfortunately,  because  of  its  location  in  the 
geological  section,  it  is  seldom  found  accessible,  except  with  extraordinary 
heavy  stripping,  or  by  mining. 

The  analysis  of  the  above  is  as  follows : 

ANALYSIS  OF   NO.   9. 

Si   O2    60.24 

A12   O8    23.29 

Fe2   03    5-13 

Ca   O    1.50 

Mg  O    2.09 

Loss  on  ignition,  combined,  H2  O  and  CO2 7.42 


99.67 

The  infusible  silica  particles  are  of  rough,  sharp  grain,  the  material  vitrifies 
at  about  2,050  degrees  F.,  and  there  is  a  wide  range  between  this  and  the  point 
of  fusion,  making  it  a  safe  shale  to  work,  and  producing  very  tough,  dense- 
textured  ware,  standing  high  rattler  tests,  and  is  in  every  way  a  desirable  ma- 
terial. This  stratum  is  red  burning  under  oxidizing  conditions,  but  will  burn 
to  good,  dark  color  when  reducing  atmosphere  is  used  in  the  kiln. 

This  deposit  is  being  worked  extensively  by  the  Danville  Brick  Company 
in  the  manufacture  of  superior  grade  of  paving  brick,  and  has  been  worked  for 
some  years  by  the  Selley  Brick  Company,  located  at  Danville,  Illinois,  which 
plant  has  recently  been  purchased  by  the  Western  Brick  Company,  who  are 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  295 

enlarging  and  improving  it,  with  the  idea  of  manufacturing  dark  colored,  low 
grade  facing  brick. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  only  "Low  Grade  Clays"  exist  in  the  county, 
and  that  their  accessibility  and  proximity  to  market  are  the  determining  factors 
of  their  utility,  the  geographical  distribution  of  these  clays  over  the  county, 
with  respect  to  the  surface,  will  be  of  paramount  interest. 

The  provisional  geological  map  of  Illinois  of  1907  shows  the  entire  county 
as  being  in  the  coal  measure,  or  carboniferous  belt.  This  may  be  true,  and  yet 
the  clay  deposits  be  so  covered  up  by  glacial  drift  as  to  be  inaccessible,  except 
by  mining,  which  process  of  procuring  raw  material  is,  for  most  "Low  Grade 
Clay"  products,  impracticable. 

Only  in  portions  of  Danville,  Catlin,  Georgetown  and  Oakwood  townships 
do  conditions  exist  favorable  to  the  finding  of  clays  of  modern  utility,  accessible 
from  the  surface,  as  practically  all  of  the  balance  of  the  county  is  level  prairie, 
and  the  coal  measures  are  covered  by  heavy  glacial  drift. 

Summarizing,  therefore,  we  find  that: 

ist.  The  geological  formation  of  Vermilion  County  is  unfavorable  to  the 
discovery  of  any  clays  other  than  those  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  "Low 
Grade"  products. 

2d.  The  area  in  which  valuable  materials  are  likely  to  be  found  accessible, 
without  mining,  is  very  small  compared  with  the  total  area  of  the  county,  and 
is  limited  to  portions  of  Danville,  Catlin,  Georgetown  and  Oakwood  townships. 

3d.  Referring  to  the  geological  section,  No.  2  material  (shale  above  No.  7 
coal),  and  the  No.  9  material  (shale  under  No.  6  coal)  alone  can  be  utilized, 
all  of  the  under-clays  being  non-refractory  and  more  or  less  impregnated  with 
limestone  nodules. 

4th.  Even  in  the  townships  in  which  the  carboniferous  formation  occurs 
close  to  the  surface,  there  is  little  probability  of  finding  desirable  strata  ex- 
posed, without  a  heavy  over-burden  of  alluvial  or  glacial  drift. 

*         *         *        * 

Prior  to  the  year  1888  only  the  surface  or  the  alluvial  clays  of  the  county 
had  been  worked,  and  those  only  in  a  small  way  in  the  manufacture  of  com- 
mon "Low  Grade"  building  brick  and  drain  tile. 

About  the  year  above  mentioned  the  Grape  Creek  Coal  Company  built  a 
plant  near  Grape  Creek,  southeast  of  Danville,  and  opened  deposit  No.  5  of 
the  geological  section,  or  the  shale  between  Nos.  6  and  7  coals. 

This  was  operated  intermittently  under  the  active  management  of  Dr. 
Joseph  Fairhall  until  1895,  when  it  was  definitely  abandoned.  Although  some 
very  good  ware  in  both  building  and  paving  brick  were  produced,  the  material 
was  not  very  satisfactory,  and  the  limestone  layers,  prevalent  in  this  stratum, 
caused  some  trouble. 

This  plant  was  the  pioneer  in  the  working  of  the  coal  measure  clays  of  this 
county,  and  it  was  mainly  because  it  proved  the  possibilities  of  these  that  all 
succeeding  enterprises  were  located. 

In  1891  J.  G.  Shea  opened  No.  2,  being  the  shale  above  the  No.  7  coalr 
and  No.  9,  being  the  shale  below  No.  6  coal,  directly  west  of  Danville.  This 
plant,  very  much  improved  and  enlarged,  is  now  being  operated  by  the  Dan- 


296  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

ville  Brick  Company,  and  is  now  using  No.  9  almost  exclusively.  It  is  equipped 
with  all  modern  machinery,  kilns,  etc.,  including  an  extraordinary  heavy  steam 
shovel,  and  is  manufacturing  about  twenty  millions  yearly  of  ten-pound  paving 
blocks  of  excellent  quality,  testing  favorably  with  the  acknowledged  best  of  the 
country. 

In  1900  the  plant  of  the  Western  Brick  Company  was  built  about  two 
miles  and  a  half  west  of  Danville,  and  stratum  No.  2,  or  the  shale  immediately 
overlying  the  No.  7  coal,  was  opened  and  has  been  almost  exclusively  used  ever 
since. 

This  company  is  forced  to  remove  an  over-burden  of  from  15  to  20  feet 
of  glacial  drift  before  reaching  workable  material,  which  is  accomplished  by 
hydraulic  process,  or  the  washing  of  the  stripping  down  an  inclined  plane.  As 
part  compensation  for  this,  however,  a  considerable  quantity  of  No.  7  coal,  six 
feet  in  thickness,  is  uncovered;  the  shale  almost  down  to  the  coal  being  work- 
able. 

This  is  in  every  way  a  modern  plant,  using  steam  shovels  and  the  best  of 
equipment  throughout;  mines  all  its  own  coal,  operates  58  kilns,  and  produces 
upward  of  seventy-five  million  yearly  of  vitrified  and  impervious  red  and  brown 
building  brick,  of  which  quite  a  considerable  portion  is  used  for  facing  pur- 
poses. 

The  clay  industries  of  the  county  at  the  present  writing  represent  an  in- 
vestment of  considerably  over  a  million  dollars,  give  steady  employment  to  over 
five  hundred  men,  and  disburse  an  annual  payroll  somewhat  in  excess  of 
$350,000. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
MANUFACTURING  INTERESTS. 

Notwithstanding  the  evident  advantages  to  be  found  for  factories  in 
cheap  coal  and  ready  means  of  transportation,  Vermilion  County  is  not 
the  manufacturing  center  it  should  be.  It  is  rather  an  agricultural  and 
mining  community.  There  have  been  attempts  made  to  locate  factories  but  they 
have  in  more  cases  failed  than  have  met  with  success.  In  Hoopeston,  the  manu- 
facturing interests  are  such  as  are  needed  to  help  out  the  canning  in- 
dustries. There  is  one  exception  to  this  in  the  horse  shoe  nail  factory. 
Many  factories  in  Danville,  have  either  gone  out  of  business  or  moved  away. 
A  mention  of  the  names  of  some  of  these  may,  perhaps  recall  their  possibilities. 
The  Wrought  Iron  Wagon  Works,  the  Garland  Tile  factory,  The  Great  Western 
Machine  and  Engine  shops,  the  carriage  shops  of  D.  Force  and  William  White- 
hill,  the  organ  factory  of  J.  Miller  and  son,  and  the  Morris  Burley  &  Co., 
manufactory  of  fine  furniture.  The  William  Stewart  general  foundry  and 
machine  shop  has  a  successor  in  the  Danville  Foundry  and  Machine  Co.,  of  520 
Junction  ave.  The  Holmes  Bros,  conduct  a  large  machine  shop  where  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  machinery  can  be  made  from  the  parts  of  an  automobile, 
traction  engine,  and  mine  and  mill  machinery,  to  automatic  bell  ringers  for  loco- 
motives, shaker  screens,  weigh  hoppers,  smoke  stacks  and  car  lifts.  Their  pro- 
ducts are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  a  complete  set  of  milling  machinery 
being,  within  the  last  year,  shipped  to  a  number  of  South  American  mines. 
This  extensive  business  started  in  Danville  under  the  firm  name  of  Baker  & 
Holmes,  thirty  years  ago,  in  a  small  building  near  the  Wabash  railroad,  by 
Robert  Holmes  and  P.  T.  Baker.  Mr.  Baker  withdrew  from  the  firm  in  1890, 
and  Sherman  and  Grant  Holmes  entered  the  firm  and  the  present  name  was 
assumed.  Later  the  business  was  moved  to  the  corner  of  Hazel  and  North 
streets  and  Holmes  Bros,  offered  "everything  on  wheels"  to  the  public  The 
business  has  grown  famously,  they  taking  on  the  sale  of  automobiles,  being  the 
first  in  the  county  to  deal  in  these  machines. 

The  Western  Brick  Co.  was  erected  nine  years  ago,  being  opened  in  1900. 
When  first  started,  the  capacity  of  the  plant  was  150,000  bricks  per  day,  but  the 
improvements  have  been  made,  until  now  the  output  of  this  factory  is  250,000 
bricks  per  day.  This  is  the  largest  brick  plant  in  the  world.  The  company 
owns  about  350  acres  of  land,  all  of  which  is  underlaid  with  coal  and  shale, 

297 


298  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

both  quite  necessary  to  modern  brick-making.  The  surface  covering  of  the  shale 
is  removed  by  hydraulic  pressure.  The  shale  is  then  removed  by  a  huge  steam 
shovel,  with  a  capacity  of  many  yards,  the  shale  is  then  loaded  in  small  dump 
cars  and  hauled  to  the  plant,  some  distance  away,  by  miniature  locomotives,  two 
of  which  are  used  in  hauling  the  train  loads  of  shale  to  the  plant  and  the  third 
used  in  the  hauling  of  coal  from  the  company's  mines,  after  the  shale  has  been 
removed.  The  shale  is  first  crushed,  then  by  a  number  of  very  expensive 
machines,  it  is  reduced  to  a  powder.  This  powder  is  subjected  to  a  certain 
treatment,  after  which  it  is  then  mixed  with  water  and  given  to  the  brick-making 
machinery.  Four  large  brick-machines  are  constantly  in  operation,  manufactur- 
ing a  variety  of  products,  more  than  thirty  different  shades  and  varieties  being 
turned  out  at  this  plant.  The  plant  has  never  ceased  operation  since  starting, 
and  gives  yearly  employment  to  30x1  men.  The  Western  Brick  Company  make 
a  specialty  of  medium  priced  vitrified  facing  brick  and  produce  over  thirty 
shades  and  varieties,  ranging  in  color  from  a  bright  cherry  red  to  black.  This 
is  one  of  the  principle  factories  of  Danville.  The  Danville  Brick  Co.  is  a  local 
enterprise  which  ran  perhaps  a  half  dozen  years  and  about  four  years  ago  was 
given  material  help  by  the  fact  of  four  men  taking  hold  of  it  and  pushing  it  to 
its  fullest  capacity.  Its  capacity  was  increased  from  16,000  blocks  to  60,000 
per  day.  These  are  the  large  sized  paving  bricks,  which,  if  computed  in  regular 
brick  size,  would  be  a  little  more  than  120,000  per  day.  The  closing  of  the 
mines  had  very  little  effect  on  this  company.  The  Danville  Brick  plant  is  located 
in  a  peculiar  depression,  where  the  best  grade  of  shale  is  to  be  found.  The 
shale  from  which  the  big  paving  blocks  are  made  is  taken  from  below  the  first 
vein  (No.  7)  of  coal,  that  shale  being  more  flinty,  much  harder  and  at  the 
same  time  more  like  cement  than  the  upper  shale,  of  which  the  product  of  most 
companies  is  made.  This  lower  strata  of  shale  is  very  thick  and  compact  and 
heavy  shooting  is  necessary  to  loosen  it.  It  was  because  of  this  that  the  company 
petitioned  the  city  council  to  declare  the  plant  outside  the  city  limits.  When 
completed,  the  blocks  weigh  eleven  pounds,  or  there  abouts.  Two  grades  of 
paving  blocks  are  handled  by  this  company,  first  and  second  class  bricks.  Only 
first  class  bricks  are  sent  out  for  paving  streets ;  the  seconds  are  used  for  house 
foundations. 

There  are  several  planing  mills  in  Danville.  The  oldest  perhaps  is  that  of 
E.  C.  Lamm,  or  N.  E.  Holden.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  the  business  was  in- 
herited from  his  father  so  that  the  name  of  Holden  and  the  business  of  the 
lumber  trade  has  been  associated  for  years.  The  name  of  Lamm  is  as  closely 
associated  with  the  lumber  interest  however,  since  the  older  brothers  of  Mr.  E. 
C.  Lamm  were  lumber  merchants,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  long  ago  as  was  Mr. 
John  Holden.  Other  planing  mills  are  the  Eureka  Planing  Mills,  located  at  the 
corner  of  Woodbury  and  Robinson  streets,  Frank  L.  Hill,  Trent  Bros.,  S. 
P.  Swisher,  and  the  Bolander  Lumber  Co. 

The  Already  Box  Company  is  another  of  Danville's  factories,  at  present. 
This  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Section  street  and  Big  Four  tracks. 

The  Kelley  Block  and  Tile  Co.,  located  at  1909  is  another  small  factory.  So 
also  is  Powers  and  Supple,  located  on  N.  Hazel  street.  The  Danville  Lounge 
and  Mattress  Co.,  located  on  Franklin  street  between  North  and  Main,  is  an 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  299 

established  business  and  is  a  factory  which  reflects  credit  on  the  city.  The 
Harenden  Milling  Co.  is  located  in  the  east  part  of  the  city  and  has  a  profitable 
output  of  good  products.  The  Street  Railway  and  Light  company  operates  a 
gas  plant,  an  electric  light  plant,  street  railway  lines,  and  a  central  station  heat- 
ing plant.  They  operate  about  eighteen  miles  of  city  street  railway  lines,  all  of 
which  are  either  new  or  have  been  rebuilt  within  the  last  five  or  six  years.  About 
six  miles  of  the  lines  are  double  tracked.  The  company  operates  eighteen  cars 
and  gives  a  service  varying  from  six  minutes  on  certain  lines  to  twenty  minutes 
on  other  lines.  The  cars  are  operated  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  mid- 
night, and  handle  about  ten  thousand  cash  and  transfer  passengers  per  day. 
The  electric  lighting  plant  covers  practically  every  part  of  the  city  with  lines 
which  carry  lights  equal  to  about  65,000  sixteen  candle  power  lamps.  The  signs 
which  the  merchants  of  Danville  have  installed,  and  which  are  run  by  this  com- 
pany, are  a  great  attraction,  and  add  much  to  the  appearance  of  the  city.  There 
are  about  25,000  miles  of  gas  mains  in  Danville  which  furnishes  gas  to  all  the 
more  thickly  settled  parts  of  the  city  both  for  lighting  and  cooking  purposes. 
About  three  miles  of  steam  heat  furnishes  the  business  and  adjacent  residences 
with  steam  to  take  the  place  of  other  fuel.  The  power  house  of  this  great  sys- 
tem has  5,000  horse  power  installed  in  boilers  and  about  6,000  horse  power  in- 
stalled in  engines  and  generators,  all  of  which  are  worked  to  their  full  capacity. 
This  plant  furnishes  power  to  the  interurban  line  to  a  point  within  about  fifteen 
miles  of  Decatur.  The  Headley  Glass  Company,  and  the  Sweet  Window  Glass 
Company  both  promised  much  as  factories,  but  did  not  meet  expectations.  The 
same  can  be  said  to  a  greater  extent  of  the  Danville  Car  Co.,  located  at  Tilton.  An 
extensive  plant  came  to  Danville  in  1904.  It  was  the  Regeler  Smelting  works. 
This  plant  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  factory  of  the  same  nature  under  the  man- 
agement of  the  father  of  these  men  and  with  which  they,  had  been  associated 
before  coming  to  Danville.  The  firm  bought  several  hundred  acres  of  land  and 
the  coal  under  even  a  greater  extent.  This  plant  is  one  of  unusual  interest  and 
is  one  for  any  community  to  view  with  pride.  Another  plant  of  value  to  the 
city  of  Danville  is  the  Illinois  Printing  Co.  It  is  a  stock  company  and  manufac- 
tures a  high  grade  of  blank  books  as  well  as  does  other  work  generally  found  in 
such  an  establishment. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
EARLY  MERCHANTS. 

INDIAN  TRADERS FIRST  MERCHANTS GURDON  S.   HUBBARD — BECKWITH  &  CLYMAN 

FIRST    MERCHANTS    IN    THE    SOUTHERN    PART   OF   THE   COUNTY. 

The  first  mercantile  ventures  made  in  Vermilion  County  were  those  with 
the  Indians.  It  is  impossible  to  get  the  exact  date  of  the  first  trading  with 
the  Indians,  since  there  is  no  record  of  such  transactions,  and  the  memory  of 
any  living  man  is  of  little  worth,  because  there  is  no  man  alive  today  who  could 
possibly  know  of  this  time.  All  such  transactions  antedate  the  experience  of 
the  grandfathers  of  the  man  of  active  life  in  Vermilion  County  now. 

There  is  no  known  fact  by  which  this  date  can  be  estimated.  The  vague 
statements  of  early  writers  give  the  assurance  of  these  traders  but  put  no  time 
of  their  trading  at  this  point.  The  tales  told  to  Col.  Vance  and  Gurdon  Hub- 
bard  by  the  Indians  in  the  'twenties  were  of  the  white  men  who  bought  their 
furs,  but  they  did  not  make  an  effort  to  locate  the  time  of  the  trade,  or  if 
they  did,  no  record  was  kept  of  it. 

These  traders  came  on  their  own  account  long  before  the  American  Fur 
Company  saw  the  wealth  in  fur  along  the  waters  of  the  Little  Vermilion.  At 
least  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  such  to  be  the  case.  And  it  is  a  matter  of 
record  that  the  American  Fur  Company  whose  headquarters  were  at  Macanaw, 
had  agents  in  this  region  as  early  as  the  first  years  of  the  last  quarter  of  the 
i8th  century,  and  probably  at  an  earlier  date  than  that.  True,  there  were  no 
storehouses  in  the  territory  now  Vermilion  County,  but  a  white  man's  instinct 
to  get  that  which  was  of  value  to  his  red-skinned  brother,  would  show  him  a 
way  to  keep  the  skins  of  the  desired  animal  when  he  found  them  as  abundant 
as  they  were  in  this  locality.  The  timber  along  the  Vermilion  was  productive 
of  a  variety  of  fur-bearing  animals,  even  after  the  coming  of  the  first  settlers, 
and  the  hunters  through  the  wilderness  of  eastern  Illinois  and  western  Indiana 
finding  this  wealth,  if  not  exactly  trading  themselves,  directed  the  disposition 
of  the  furs  to  the  nearest  or  most  accessible  trading  post. 

The  American  Fur  Company  early  established  a  trade  through  the  Illinois 
country  with  stations  or  posts  in  the  eastern  part  along  the  Iroquois,  the  Em- 
barass  and  the  Little  Wabash.  Their  agents  made  a  business  of  following  the 
Indians  in  their  hunting  grounds,  and  in  this  way  learned  their  habits,  and  their 

300 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  301 

characteristics  while  they  secured  their  trade.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  was  agent 
for  the  American  Fur  Company,  succeeding  Antonin  Des  Champs  in  this  ter- 
ritory in  1824.  Antonin  Des  Champs  had  had  charge  of  the  interests  of  the 
company  in  the  trade  of  the  company  for  about  forty  years  in  the  territory 
between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  rivers.  This  takes  the  record  of  trade  in 
this  section  back  to  about  1785,  or  thirty-five  years  before  the  coming  of  the 
white  settler  to  the  location  of  Vermilion  County.  Des  Champs  was  in  charge 
of  the  territory  until  five  years  after  small  settlements  had  been  made  at  the 
salt  works,  at  Brook's  Point,  at  Butler's  Point  and  along  the  Little  Vermilion. 

When  Mr.  Hubbard  took  charge  of  this  territory,  he  abandoned  the  posts 
on  the  Illinois,  and  no  longer  carried  the  trade  by  water,  but  introduced  pack- 
horses.  The  trail  from  Chicago  to  the  salt  works  which  he  established  was 
called  Hubbard  "Trace,"  and  was  followed  for  many  years  as  the  most  direct 
road  from  Chicago  to  Vincennes,  Indiana.  This  Hubbard  Trace  was  the 
foundation  of  one  of  the  most  direct  railroads  in  the  state  connecting  Chicago 
and  the  Ohio  river. 

In  1827  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  abandoned  the  posts  on  the  Embarass  and 
Little  Wabash,  and  put  up  the-  first  frame  building  ever  constructed  in  Ver- 
milion County  for  a  storehouse,  which  became  the  headquarters  for  the  Indian 
fur  .trade  in  this  part  of  the  country.  This  trade  was  extensive  and  demanded 
the  employment  of  several  clerks.  He  brought  three  Frenchmen  with  him,  two 
of  whom  married  daughters  of  prominent  early  settlers.  These  men  were  Noel 
Vassar,  Nicholas  Boilvin  and  Toussaint  Bleau.  Nicholas  Boilvin  married  a 
daughter  of  D.  Woods,  and  Toussaint  Bleau  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  R. 
Palmer.  Samuel  Russell  and  William  Bandy  were  both  clerks  at  this  trading 
house. 

During  the  five  years  this  trading  house  was  in  operation,  the  Indians 
would  file  into  town  on  their  ponies  in  large  numbers  with  their  furs,  which 
they  exchanged  for  white  flour,  meat  and  other  luxuries,  as  well  as  the  trinkets 
they  loved  so  well.  They  brought  their  squaws  and  papooses  with  them,  and 
would  camp  on  the  bluff  near  the  foot  of  Walnut  street  or  a  little  further  east 
on  the  same  bluff,  where  they  would  feast  and  enjoy  themselves  for  several 
days  before  again  taking  up  their  march  whence  they  came. 

In  1832  Mr.  Hubbard  found  that  the  Indian  trade  had  declined  to  such  pro- 
portions that  it  would  be  advisable  to  convert  his  stock  into  one  that  would 
better  suit  the  increased  white  population.  The  fur-bearing  animals  had  be- 
come scarce,  and  the  Indian  himself  had  been  dispersed  to  such  an  extent,  al- 
though it  was  not  until  six  years  later  that  the  Pottawotomies  were  officially 
moved  to  beyond  the  Missisippi  river.  Hubbard  had  N.  D.  Palmer  as  his  part- 
ner in  his  store,  and  the  prospect  for  trade  was  good.  He,  however,  became 
desirous  of  developing  the  swamp  lands  in  which  he  had  invested  near  Lake 
Michigan,  and  the  same  year  that  he  made  the  change  in  his  stock,  he  sold 
the  store  to  Dr.  Fithian.  The  building,  which  itself  was  worth  a  place  in  the 
history  of  Vermilion  County  because  it  was  the  first  frame  house  built  in  the 
county,  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  public  square  on  the  east  corner  and  re- 
mained standing  many  years.  A  less  pretentious  mercantile  venture  than  that 
of  Hubbard's  was  made  by  Dan  Beckwith  in  1821  near  Denmark.  He,  with 


302  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

his  brother  George,  came  to  the  salt  springs  in  1809,  and  two  years  later  is 
known  to  have  had  a  few  goods  suitable  for  Indian  barter,  which  he  kept  in 
a  place  partly  excavated  in  the  side  of  a  hill  at  Denmark.  A  little  later  he 
moved  to  Danville  and  built  a  log  cabin  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  Main  street 
near  Logan  avenue.  His  later  storeroom  was  located  at  the  west  end  of  the 
original  Main  street  of  Danville  at  the  point  where  there  is  a  turn  in  the  street. 
He  had  as  a  partner  one  James  Clyman  who  is  described  as  a  typical  frontiers- 
man in  buckskin  leggins,  hunting  shirt  and  coonskin  cap.  Restless,  as  all  of 
his  kind  were,  he  went  on  to  the  west  as  soon  as  the  white  man  came  here 
to  make  settlements. 

Benjamin  Canaday  was  the  first  merchant  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county. 
He,  with  his  father  and  three  brothers,  came  to  the  Little  Vermilion  to  settle 
in  the  fall  of  1821.  He  was  a  tinner  by  trade,  and  during  the  winter  of  the 
deep  snow,  made  up  a  stock  of  tinware  and  took  it  to  Louisville,  where  he 
traded  it  for  goods.  This  stock  of  general  merchandise  he  brought  back  with 
him  and  sold  to  the  neighbors.  In  1831  he  went  to  Georgetown,  and  with  the 
Haworths  began  the  mencantile  interests  of  that  place.  He  became  the  man  of 
largest  mercantile  interests  in  that  prosperous  village.  This  was  in  1830.  Mr. 
Canaday  remained  in  business  with  Mr.  Haworth  for  a  time  when  he  sold  out 
and  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Abraham  Frazier.  After  a  time,  however, 
he  sold  the  store  to  Dr.  Gillaspie,  who  came  from  Tennessee,  and  Mr.  Canaday 
remained  in  the  store.  He  continued  in  the  mercantile  interests  for  a  long 
time  until  he  amassed  a  fortune.  He  was  the  leading  merchant  of  Georgetown 
for  many  years.  Mr.  Canaday  was  a  public-spirited  man  and  was  always  found 
in  all  the  enterprises  tending  to  advance  Georgetown.  He  built  the  brick  store 
that  was  such  a  pride  to  the  community  and  in  which  his  successors  in  business 
were  to  be  found  during  their  term  of  mercantile  life.  Dr.  Gillaspie  continued 
in  business  for  some  time,  but  at  last  went  west. 

Abraham  Frazier  was  the  one  of  that  name  who  began  the  career  of  the 
family  in  the  mercantile  life  in  Georgetown.  He  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  but 
went  into  the  mercantile  line  and  kept  to  that  the  rest  of  his  life.  His  brother 
Abner  came  from  Tennessee  and  began  to  farm,  but  gave  it  up  to  clerk  in 
his  brother's  store.  After  a  while  he  married,  however,  and  went  back  to  the 
farm.  His  sons  were  interested  in  mercantile  matters  and  took  the  store  con- 
tinuing the  name  of  Frazier  in  the  interests  of  trade  in  Georgetown,  and  hand- 
ing it  down  to  yet  another  generation.  Georgetown  without  a  Frazier's  store 
would  be  a  strange  place. 

James  Shannon  was  a  merchant  at  an  early  day,  but  met  a  most  distressing 
death  from  accident  which  ended  his  efforts  in  mercantile  lines.  Among  the 
other  men  who  were  merchants  in  Georgetown  at  an  early  time,  the  names  of 
Flam  Henderson,  Jacob  Yapp,  Joseph  Bailey,  Mr.  G.  W.  Holloway,  Richie  and 
the  Cowans  are  conspicuous.  The  merchants  of  Georgetown  have  had  first  at- 
tention since  that  was  the  chief  interest  of  the  section  in  the  early  days.  Before 
Danville  was  of  any  worth  as  a  trading  point.  Georgetown  was  a  flourishing 
village,  and  the  mercantile  interest  was  better  cared  for  in  that  place  than  in 
any  other  in  the  county.  During  those  days  trade  was  dependent  upon  the 
best  means  of  transportation,  and  that  was,  of  course,  waterways.  Produce 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  303 

went  down  the  Vermilion,  the  Wabash  and  Ohio  rivers  to  the  Mississippi 
river,  and  needed  articles  came  either  back  that  way  or  came  from  Cincinnati 
down  the  Ohio  and  up  the  Wabash  to  Perrysville,  Indiana,  whence  it  was  hauled 
in  wagons.  A  regular  line  of  steamboats  were  going  from  Cincinnati  to  Perrys- 
ville in  the  'thirties.  Perrysville  was  the  distributing  point  for  the  entire  sec- 
tion of  Illinois  to  the  north  and  to  the  west.  Later  the  Wabash  Railroad  was 
finished  as  far  west  as  State  Line,  and  goods  were  hauled  from  that  point. 
Sometimes  these  goods  came  to  Covington  by  way  of  the  canal  and  were 
hauled  thence  to  Danville  or  Georgetown,  but  by  this  time  trade  in  Danville 
was  improving. 

Indianola  was  the  center  of  an  attempt  at  establishing  trade  in  1837.  Mr. 
Atkinson  built  a  store;  that  is,  he  built  a  log  house  with  a  frame  addition,  and 
kept  some  goods  for  sale.  This  was  not  a  good  time  to  make  any  business 
venture  and  his  failure  was  to  be  expected.  Mr.  Atkinson,  too,  was  not  fitted 
to  carry  on  trade  as  was  the  custom  at  that  time.  Twelve  months'  time  was  the 
rule  with  merchants,  and  no  one  expected  any  less.  There  was  no  crop  which 
would  bring  money  until  about  Christmas.  Some  would  carry  their  produce 
to  Chicago  for  sale,  but  it  was  to  exchange  for  some  goods  needed  in  the 
family,  and  no  money  exchanged  hands.  No  one  bought  cattle  or  hogs  until 
fall,  and  it  was  usually  not  until  mid-winter  that  any  one  had  any  money  to 
spend  in  paying  bills  at  the  store  or  the  shop  before  that  time.  John  Williams 
kept  a  general  store  for  a  while  and  Mr.  O'Bryant  added  a  stock  of  harness, 
saddlery  and  clothing.  John  Gilgis  came  here  in  1842  and  began  selling  goods. 
Samuel  Sconce  came  here  about  this  time  and  really  was  the  first  to  work  up 
a  large  mercantile  trade.  He  had  been  in  this  part  of  the  country  since  1831 
and  came  to  Indianola  at  this  time  from  the  farm  which  had  become  his  son 
James'.  Mr.  Sconce  had  Mr.  Joseph  Bailey  as  his  partner  and  also  Mr.  Gilgis. 
Mr.  Bailey  retired  in  1857.  During  the  business  transactions  of  Bailey,  Sconce 
&  Co.,  it  was  no  uncommon  day's  work  to  sell  $500  worth  of  goods.  Having 
noted  the  condition  of  trade  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  in  the  days 
when  yet  Danville  had  no  greater,  and  indeed  not  so  great,  facilities  for  the 
profitable  exchange  of  products  of  the  soil  for  articles  needed  for  the  house,  it 
is  well  to  take  a  look  at  the  town  northwest,  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Big  Ver- 
milion, whose  prospects  were  more  flattering  than  even  these  more  southern 
villages,  in  the  first  years  of  county  life. 

Denmark  was  the  coming  town  at  the  time  of  the  location  of  the  county 
seat,  and  it  was  a  hopeful  competitor  to  the  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  North 
Fork,  that  at  this  time  never  had  been.  Denmark  could  boast  a  mill,  while  yet 
Danville  was  going  to  Paris,  or  seeking  grist  at  her  doors.  Seymour  Treat 
built  this  mill  in  1829  or  1830.  Even  before  this,  Dan  Beckwith  had  a  trader's 
handful  of  goods  under  the  bluff  at  Denmark,  and  trade  had  begun  long  before 
he  had  offered  the  land  to  the  commissioners,  who  were  locating  a  county  seat. 
After  the  mill  was  started,  a  considerable  settlement  followed,  and  soon  two 
dry-goods  stores  were  opened.  One  belonged  to  Alexander  Bailey,  and  the 
other  belonged  to  Stebbins  Jennings.  The  former  was  the  first  started  in  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Bailey  became  a  man  of  influence,  attaining  much  prominence.  Mr. 
Jennings  was  a  good  business  man  as  well,  and  perhaps  of  a  more  practical 


304  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

turn.     He  took  a  leading  position  in  Denmark,  and  was  freely  entrusted  with 
matters  of  responsibility. 

James  Skinner  was  another  early  merchant  of  Denmark.  Together  with 
William  McMillan,  he  bought  the  Treat  mill.  It  is  said  by  some  that  he  opened 
the  first  inn.  However  that  might  have  been,  he  was  comparatively  among  the 
later  comers  to  Denmark,  and  was  by  no  means  the  earliest  merchant  in  this 
early  settled  village.  Mr.  McMillan  came  about  the  latter  part  of  1832.  Others 
had  made  the  venture  in  mercantile  work  long  before  this  time.  John  Williams 
kept  a  general  store  and  also  John  Hunt.  Returning  to  Danville,  to  note  further 
the  early  mercantile  interests.  The  storeroom  built  by  George  Haworth  in  1827 
was  on  the  corner  now  covered  by  the  Daniel  building.  This  is  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  plaza  and  has  always  been  a  favorite  site  for  buildings  and  keep- 
ing store.  This  store  was  built  by  George  Haworth  and  was  made  of  huge 
logs  nicely  hewn,  and  was  two  stories  high,  and  took  all  the  men  in  the  country 
around  to  raise  it.  It  was  also  provided  with  defensive  portholes  above  and 
below.  It  was  in  the  eastern  end  of  this  formidable  barracks  that  Gurdon 
Hubbard  had  his  stock  of  goods  for  trade  with  the  Indians.  This  building  stood 
for  twenty  years,  when  Adams  &  Co.  put  up  a  two-story  frame  building  on  the 
site  of  this,  but  it  soon  burned.  Mr.  Bateman  was  a  merchant  in  a  portion  of 
this  building  when  it  burned,  and  he  soon  after  bought  the  lot  and  put  up  the 
one-story  brick  building  in  1855.  This  building  stood  until  the  present  handsome 
Daniel  building  was  put  up  on  the/ .lot.  This  was  the  first  corner  occupied  for 
mercantile  purposes  in  Danvile,  and  has  always  been  a  popular  corner. 

The  first  store  in  Myersville,  that  once  important  village,  was  built  and  the 
store  opened  by  William  and  Andrew  Zeigler,  of  Attica,  Indiana.  This  firm  sold 
the  first  goods  north  of  Danville,  excepting  in  Denmark.  Myersville  was  well 
located  for  trade,  particularly  after  the  Wabash  Railroad  made  State  Line  city 
its  western  terminus.  This  firm  was  succeeded  by  William  Biggs,  and  he  in 
turn  was  bought  out  by  Green  &  Gundy  (Joseph  Gundy)  in  the  spring  of  1852. 
Early  in  1854  Andrew  Gundy  took  charge  of  the  business  previously  carried 
on  under  the  firm  name  of  Green  &  Gundy,  and  thereafter  conducted  it  in  his 
own  name.  In  the  year  1857  he  did  a  business  of  $36,000,  retailing  these  goods 
from  the  store.  He  carried  on  his  private  business  of  buying  and  selling  wool 
and  the  feeding  of  cattle  and  hogs,  but  this  was  not  included  in  the  amount 
named  for  the  sales  of  the  store.  People  came  here  from  the  distance  of  sev- 
enty miles  to  trade  and  have  their  milling  done. 

Bismark  had  a  store  before  it  became  a  town.  Robert  Kerr  built  the  room 
and  began  to  sell  goods,  but  was  succeeded  by  John  Leonard  and  then  by 
Asa  Bushnell.  Mr.  Bushnell  bought  out  Mr.  Leonard,  and  then  went  into 
partnership  with  Francis  Gundy.  They  put  up  a  nice  building,  and  for  a 
long  time  kept  a  general  store.  Green  &  Phillips  kept  a  grocery  and  provision 
store  for  two  years  and  were  succeeded  by  Phillips  Bros. 

Rossville,  Hoopeston,  even  Collison  and  Ridge  Farm,  as  well  as  other  towns 
and  cities  in  the  county  which  could  be  mentioned,  were  not  without  their  mer- 
cantile interests,  but  their  first  efforts  came  so  late  in  the  years  of  the  life 
of  Vermilion  County  that  they  would  be  out  of  place  in  this  resume  of  the 
first  mercantile  interests  in  the  county. 


E.    H.    WHITI-IAM 


JOHN    L.    HAMILTON 


JOSEPH   G.    ENGLISH 


J.    S.    McFERREN 


C.    L.    ENGLISH 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

/ 

FIRST  BANKS  AND  BANKING  INTERESTS. 

Although  Danville  was  less  than  ten  years  old  in  1836,  its  prospective  im- 
portance was  such  as  to  warrant  the  establishing  of  a  branch  of  the  State  Bank 
of  Illinois  at  this  place.  The  United  States  Land  Office  was  here  and,  while  it 
was  yet  a  town  little  more  than  in  promise,  it  bid  fair  to  become  a  place  of  im- 
portance. Mr.  Mordecia  Mobley  was  sent  here  to  take  charge  of  the  new  ven- 
ture and  rented  a  small  building  on  the  corner  south  of  the  public  square  and 
east  of  Vermilion  street,  where  he  built  a  stone  vault  outside  the  building  in 
which  he  put  his  safe.  Mr.  Mobley  was  a  competent  and  safe  business  man  and 
conducted  a  safe  and  very  good  business.  He  did  the  entire  business  himself, 
being  president,  cashier,  teller  and  clerk.  He  made  a  gratuitous  distribution  of 
bank-books  among  the  depositors.  This  branch  did  not  issue  any  bills  but  paid 
the  money  out  of  the  parent  bank.  Every  thing  went  prosperously,  until  the 
crash  of  1837,  which  disorganized  all  business  and  put  an  end  to  the  profits  of 
banking  here  as  well  as  elsewhere.  It  was  a  common  occurrence  at  that  time 
to  have  banks  fail,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  branch  of  the  State  Bank  of 
Illinois  at  Danville  was  one  of  the  number. 

Banks  failed,  bankers  disappeared  and  assets  were  missing,  but  it  is  recorded 
to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Mobley  that  in  his  disappearance,  none  was  defrauded.  It 
is  perhaps  the  only  instance  on  record  that  a  banker  ran  away  and  no  one  was 
the  loser.  The  explanation  of  this  is  that  when  business  became  dull  he  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  hunting,  and  being  a  lover  of  good  horses  he  had  a  good  team 
which  he  used  in  going  away  from  home  frequently.  Because  of  this  he  could 
disappear  one  morning  with  his  family  and  entire  assets  of  his  bank  without 
causing  suspicion.  He  knew  that  if  it  was  known  that  a  removal  of  the  bank 
was  contemplated,  measures  would  be  taken  to  prevent  it,  and  much  annoyance 
would  ensue.  Knowing  as  well  that  no  one  was  defrauded  by  his  going,  he 
slipped  away  secretly. 

The  next  bank  was  started  by  an  eastern  man  by  the  name  of  Cullum.  This 
was  in  1852,  and  the  bank  was  one  of  those  known  as  a  stock  security  bank — 
that  is  a  certain  portion  of  the  capital  was  invested  in  state  stocks,  usually  in  the 
stocks  of  Missouri,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  other  southern  states.  The 
state  of  Illinois  was  bankrupt  and  had  not  even  paid  the  interest  of  its  debt  for 
fifteen  years,  so  her  bonds  were  not  considered  bankable,  and  other  bonds  were 

305 


306  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

sought.  Eastern  state  stock  could  not  be  bought,  hence  a  new  bank  must  buy 
stocks  of  some  southern  state.  When  the  rebellion  broke  out  such  states  could 
not  of  course  pay  their  bonds,  nor  even  the  interest  on  them,  and  consequently 
these  banks  established  on  this  system  which  had  not  already  failed,  succumbed. 
Mr.  Guy  Merril  was  appointed  cashier  of  this  Cullum  bank,  and  it  was  located 
in  the  old  frame  building.  It  had  a  capital  of  $50,000.  Later  it  was  removed  to 
a  building  opposite  the  McCormack  House.  This  bank  was  run  successfully  for 
three  years  and  then  sold  to  Daniel  Clapp  who  had  neither  the  required  capital 
nor  the  experience  to  carry  it  on  and  in  1856  he  failed.  As  soon  as  he  failed; 
brokers  all  over  the  country  stood  ready  to  buy  his  bills  at  from  fifty  to  seventy 
cents  on  the  dollar.  Messrs.  Tincher  and  English,  who  had  for  some  time  been 
carrying  on  a  large  and  growing  business,  were  Clapp's  assignees,  and  after 
closing  up  his  business  opened  a  private  bank.  These  men  were  of  much  ex- 
perience in  this  vicinity,  had  sufficient  capital  for  the  then  state  of  trade,  were 
safe  and  judicious  and  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  of  the  people  of  the  entire 
county.  This  private  bank,  established  in  1856,  was  the  beginning  of  the  well 
known  First  National  Bank  of  Danville.  The  first  test  of  their  ability  to  weather 
financial  storms  came  in  the  year  following  the  establishing  of  the  bank.  This 
bank  sent  the  first  application  received  at  Washington  for  a  charter  under  the 
national  bank  act  of  1864,  and  in  1872  increased  the  capital  to  $150,000.  They 
went  through  the  panic  of  1873  without  difficulty. 

The  real  estate  firm  of  Short  and  Wright  commenced  banking  in  connection 
with  its  business  in  about  1865.  In  1867,  Mr.  Abraham  Sandusky  and  Andrew 
Grundy  became  partners  of  John  C.  Short,  and  continued  the  business  under 
the  name  of  the  Exchange  Bank  of  J.  C.  Short  &  Co.  This  firm  was  interested 
in  the  development  of  the  coal  interests,  and  in  building  railroads  which  at  that 
time  were  much  needed  and  promised  to  be  remunerative.  Because  of  a  variety 
of  reasons  this  bank  failed  and  the  Danville  Banking  and  Trust  Co.  was  organ- 
ized on  its  ruins.  This  business  enterprise,  however,  was  of  short  duration. 
The  Vermilion  County  Bank -established  by  W.  P.  and  J.  G.  Cannon  is  now  the 
well  known  and  trusted  Second  National  Bank.  It  was  established  in  1873  with 
a  capital  of  $10,000. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BUILDING  ASSOCIATIONS. 
Compiled  by  J.  H.  Phillips. 

An  act  of  the  legislature  approved  April  4,  1872,  "to  enable  associations  of 
persons  to  become  a  body  corporate,  to  raise  funds  to  be  loaned  only  among  their 
members,  having  for  their  object  the  assistance  of  persons  of  small  means  to  se- 
cure homes  at  about  the  cost  which  they  must  pay  per  month  for  rent,"  was 
a  great  factor  in  the  building  of  Danville.  The  first  building  association  or- 
ganized was  in  1873,  with  W.  P.  Cannon  as  president;  William' Giddings  as  vice 
president;  Asa  Partlow,  secretary;  R.  A.  Short,  treasurer,  and  F.  W.  Penwell, 
attorney,  who  with  George  Wheeler  Jones,  M.  D.,  J.  H.  Miller,  O.  S.  Stewart, 
W.  J.  Henry,  George  Dolon,  J.  R.  Holloway  and  C.  U.  Morrison,  constituted  the 
board  of  directors.  The  capital  stock  was  limited  to  $400,000,  and  the  books 
were  closed  when  3,313  shares  had  been  subscribed,  at  $100  each.  This  was  The 
People's  Building  Association.  The  Mechanics'  Building  and  Homestead  Asso- 
ciation of  Danville,  perfected  its  organization,  November  22,  1873,  with  W.  W. 
R.  Woodbury,  president ;  W.  A.  Brown,  vice  president ;  J.  H.  Phillips,  secretary ; 
E.  H.  Palmer,  treasurer,  and  J.  W.  Jones,  attorney.  The  2,500  shares  of  author- 
ized capital  stock  was  duly  subscribed. 

The  Danville  Building  and  Savings  Association  was  organized  August  20, 
1873,  will  Judge  Terry,  president;  J.  G.  Holden,  vice  president;  V.  LeSeure, 
secretary;  A.  S.  Hawes,  treasurer;  and  J.  P.  Norvell,  attorney.  The  capital 
stock  was  $250,000.  The  officers  later  became :  J.  G.  Holden,  president ;  Dudley 
Watrous,  vice  president ;  B.  E.  Bandy,  secretary ;  A.  S.  W.  Hawes,  treasurer ; 
J.  P.  Norvell,  attorney,  who  with  the  following  composed  the  board  of  directors : 
V.  LeSeure,  C.  L.  English,  C.  K.  Miers,  C.  J.  Palmer,  J.  B.  Mann,  E.  E.  Boudin- 
ott  and  John  W.  Dale. 

The  Danville  Benefit  and  Building  Association  was  chartered  June  12,  1874, 
a  few  days  before  the  act  repealing  the  act  authorizing  such  associations  took 
effect.  An  organization  was  effected  February  28,  1877,  with  J.  G.  Holden,  presi- 
dent; S.  H.  Stewart,  secretary,  and  T.  S.  Parks,  treasurer,  and  twelve  directors. 
The  authorized  capital  was  $1,000,000,  in  shares  of  $100  each.  A  second  series 
of  shares  was  opened  in  March,  1879.  The  assets  of  this  association  at  its  last 
annual  statement,  March,  1910,  were  $1,535,534.50.  The  assets  of  this  asso- 
ciation at  its  last  annual  statement,  January,  1910,  were  $487,153.45.  In  De- 
cember, 1888,  The  Germania  Building  Association  was  organized,  on  the  serial 
plan.  Authorized  capital,  $10,000,000.  Its  first  officers  were:  president,  G.  L. 
Klugel ;  vice  president,  Gottlieb  Maier ;  secretary,  Carl  Winter ;  treasurer,  A.  Es- 

307 


308  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

slinger;  attorney,  W.  P.  Lawrence.  The  assets  of  this  association  were  at  its 
annual  statement,  January,  1910,  $631,255.96. 

The  Building  and  Loan  Associations  located  in  Danville,  from  the  date  of 
the  organization  in  1873,  have  been  phenomenally  successful,  and  of  incal- 
culable value  to  the  people.  And  not  only  by  enabling  thousands  of  families 
to  procure  their  own  homes,  but  also  by  instilling  and  fostering  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  the  importance  of  saving  money.  By  the  last  report  of  the  Auditor 
of  Public  Accounts  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  for  the  year  1909,  the  assets  of  the 
Building  and  Loan  Associations  in  the  entire  state,  amounted  to  $58,444,972.52, 
and  of  that  sum,  $6,337,553.12,  or  nearly  eleven  per  cent  are  held  by  the  asso- 
ciations located  in  Danville.  The  three  building  associations  organized  in  1873 
issued  all  their  shares  as  of  the  same  date,  and  when  those  shares  reached  the 
matured  value,  $100,  the  association  necessarily  went  out  of  business,  which 
they  did  in  about  eight  and  one-half  years,  from  the  date  of  organization.  At 
the  session  of  1878-79,  the  Illinois  legislature  reenacted  the  building  asso- 
ciation law:  said  act  being  in  force  from  and  after  July,  i,  1879,  and  has  been 
amended  by  acts  of  sundry  dates  thereafter.  In  December,  1879,  The  Equitable 
Building  and  Loan  Association  was  organized  on  the  serial  plan,  and  with  an 
authorized  capital  of  $5,000,000.  Its  officers  were  William  P.  Cannon,  president ; 
Dr.  George  Wheeler  Jones,  vice  president;  Asa  Partlow,  secretary;  John  W. 
Giddings,  treasurer;  F.  W.  Penwell,  attorney:  Its  assets  at  its  last  semi-annual 
statement,  August,  1910,  were  $913,516.16. 

November  18,  1880,  The  Danville  Building  Association  was  organized  on 
the  serial  plan  and  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $10,000,000.  Its  officers  were 
George  W.  Hooton,  president ;  William  A.  Brown,  vice  president ;  James  H.  Phil- 
lips, secretary;  Ezra  A.  Leonard,  treasurer;  and  James  W.  Jones,  attorney.  Its 
assets  at  its  last  semi-annual  statement,  July,  1910,  were  $1,870,792.26. 

Contempory  with  the  Danville  Building  Association,  The  Vermilion  County 
Association  was  organized  on  the  serial  plan,  organized  capital,  $5,000,000.  Its 
officers  were  J.  G.  Holden,  president ;  Dudley  Watrous,  vice  president ;  C.  L. 
English,  treasurer;  B.  E.  Bandy,  secretary;  J.  B.  Mann,  attorney.  The  assets 
of  the  association  at  its  last  annual  statement  in  January,  1910,  were  $879,563.54. 
March  21,  1882,  The  Home  Building  Association  was  organized  on  the  serial 
plan.  Authorized  capital,  $5,000,000.  Its  officers  were  Achilles  Martin,  presi- 
dent ;  W.  D.  Lindsey,  vice  president ;  James  H.  Phillips,  secretary ;  F.  W.  Pen- 
well,  treasurer;  W.  A.  Young,  attorney.  The  monthly  payments  on  each  share 
in  this  association  was  $1,000.  This  association  was  very  popular  from  the  date 
of  its  organization,  and  in  eight  years  its  assets  were  about  one-third  of  a 
million  dollars.  In  November,  1903.  The  Danville  and  Home  Building  Asso- 
ciation, being  practically  under  the  same  management,  and  then  on  the  same 
plan,  it  was  voted  by  the  directors  of  each  to  merge  the  two  associations  and 
wind  up  the  Home.  The  Home  is  yet  in  existence,  but  its  assets,  at  its  last 
statement,  had  been  reduced  to  $19,717.25. 

In  November,  1884,  The  Fidelity  Investment  and  Building  Association  was 
organized  on  the  same  plan,  with  authorized  capital,  $10,000,000.  Its  first  offi- 
cers were :  president,  C.  H.  Giddings,  vice  president,  Louis  Platt ;  treasurer,  C.  U. 
Feldkamp;  secretary,  W.  F.  E.  Gurley;  attorney,  W.  J.  Calhoun. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
THE  PROFESSION  OF  MEDICINE  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

The  profession  of  medicine  in  the  early  days  in  Vermilion  County  was  not  of 
much  importance.  The  healing  art  was  relegated  to  the  Indian  doctor  and  the  mid- 
wife. The  first  physicians  recorded  as  having  practice  in  this  region  came  from 
as  far  away  as  Palestine.  Absalom  Starr  hurt  his  heel  and  it  did  not  get  bet- 
ter, so  he  and  his  family  went  back  to  Palestine  and  there  seemed  nothing  that 
could  be  done  to  save  the  foot.  Coming  back  to  Vermilion  County  an  Indian  doc- 
tor cured  it,  however.  The  first  physicians  who  made  their  home  in  the  county 
were  Dr.  Isaac  Smith,  Dr.  Heyward,  Dr.  Asa  Palmer,  Dr.  Holmes  and  Dr. 
Wood. 

Dr.  Isaac  Smith  built  the  first  house  or  rather  occupied  the  first  building  in 
Georgetown  as  an  office  in  which  to  keep  his  little  stock  of  "calomel  and  jalep, 
salts  and  senna,  lancet  and  forceps."  This  latter  found  frequent  use  since  the 
profession  of  dentistry  had  not  as  yet  been  established.  Dr.  Smith  was  a  man 
of  good  education  and  excellent  characteristics.  He  was  a  successful  practitioner 
and  found  much  to  do  in  the  treatment  of  fevers,  and  other  ills  incident  to  a 
pioneer  residence  in  Vermilion  County.  His  residence  was  but  short,  when  he 
moved  to  Macinaw.  , 

Dr.  Asa  Palmer  located  in  Danville  in  about  1825,  and  became  the  first 
permanent  physician  in  Vermilion  County.  His  practice  extended  in  every  di- 
rection for  many  miles.  He  was  an  eastern  man  coming  to  Vermilion  County 
from  the  state  of  New  York.  In  connection  with  his  son  he  established  the 
first  drug  store  in  Danville. 

Dr.  Heyward  located  in  Georgetown  in  1829.  He  continued  his  practice  here 
for  ten  years,  after  which  he  moved  to  his  farm  in  Carroll  township  where  he 
resided  until  1871,  when  he  moved  to  Indianola.  In  1831,  Dr.  Heyward  married 
Sarah  Barnett,  daughter  of  George  Barnett,  and  sister  of  the  well  known  Rob- 
ert Barnett.  Dr.  Heyward,  although  a  politician  as  well  as  a  physician,  did  not 
let  any  thing  interfere  with  his  professional  work.  At  the  time  of  his  coming 
into  the  county  there  were  three  other  physicians  here;  they  were  Dr.  Palmer, 
Dr.  Holmes  and  Dr.  Blood. 

Dr.  David  Knight  was  another  of  these  early  physicians;  so  also  was  Dr. 
W.  P.  Davis.  The  latter  was  a  practitioner  living  in  Georgetown. 

309 


310  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Dr.  William  Fithian  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  located  in  Danville.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  ever  living  in  the  county. 

Dr.  Fithian  continued  in  active  practice  during  almost  sixty  years  after 
coming  to  Danville.  During  that  time  he  saw  many  changes  made  in  both  pro- 
fessional and  social  life.  During  these  years  he  was,  probably  as  widely  known 
as  any  man  in  Illinois.  He  was  a  typical  pioneer  physician,  he  would  often  be 
in  the  saddle  for  weeks  at  a  time,  excepting  for  a  very  few  hours  of  sleep  he 
might  snatch  at  night.  He  made  his  trips  on  horseback,  keeping  from  six  to 
ten  head  of  horses  all  in  constant  work.  His  practice  extended  as  far  west  as 
Bloomington,  in  McLean  County ;  south  to  and  into  Edgar  County ;  north  into 
Iroquois  and  Kankakee  Counties,  and  at  times  even  to  Chicago,  and  east  far  into 
the  state  of  Indiana.  When  he  went  on  these  long  rides  he  always  had  a  pack- 
age of  tea  with  him  and  when  he  could  not  get  the  hot  water  to  make  a  cup  of 
the  beverage,  he  would  chew  the  tea  grounds.  Dr.  Fithian  was  a  politician,  as 
well  as  a  physician,  and  as  such  he  was  very  well  known.  He  was  in  the  state 
legislature  at  the  time  the  great  appropriations  were  voted  for  internal  improve- 
ments, and  he  did  his  best  to  keep  the  legislation  from  proceeding,  seeing  but  one 
result  from  such  wild  propositions  for  spending  the  people's  money.  When 
Dr.  Fithian  found  he  had  not  enough  influence  to  stop  legislation,  he  proceeded 
to  make  the  most  of  his  knowledge  of  the  matter  and  had  the  appropriation 
made  for  the  North  Cross  Railroad,  expended  on  abutments  and  grading  in  Ver- 
milion County. 

With  the  many  physicians  in  Vermilion  County  during  all  the  years  since 
the  coming  of  Dr.  Asa  Palmer,  there  are  a  few  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves. Dr.  Fithian  is  one  of  these.  Another  was  Dr.  George  Wheeler  Jones 
who  came  to  Danville  just  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war.  Dr.  Jones  had  served 
three  years  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  63rd  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteers.  He 
went  into  the  army  after  a  very  short  practice  in  Terre  Haute,  Indiana.  Dr. 
Jones  went  to  Wabash  college  and  took  his  training  in  study  of  medicine  in 
Lind  University  later  Chicago  medical  college  of  Northwestern  University,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1861.  While  in  Chicago  he  took  special  training 
under  Dr.  Byford.  For  two  years  he  was  one  of  the  surgeons  in  charge  of  the 
field  hospitals  of  the  third  division  of  the  23d  army  corps.  He  served  with  Sher- 
man in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  also  in  the  operations  against  Hood's  army 
in  Tennessee.  He  carried  the  scars  of  the  wound  received  as  the  result  of  the 
explosion  of  a  shell,  as  long  as  he  lived.  Dr.  Jones  had  a  splendid  record  as 
physician  and  surgeon,  both  in  the  army  and  afterward  in  general  practice. 
When  he  graduated  from  the  medical  college  he  took  the  honors  of  his  class,  and 
his  was  the  prize  thesis.  The  theme  of  this  was  the  subject  so  little  understood 
at  that  time,  that  of  milk  sickness.  Dr.  Jones  was  very  active  in  his  profession, 
being  abreast  or  in  some  instances,  ahead  of  his  time.  His  practice  was  not  lim- 
ited to  his  immediate  home  town,  and  his  reputation  as  a  practitioner  was  by  no 
means  altogether  local.  Dr.  Jones  was  a  member  of  many  medical  societies, 
among  them  being  the  Vermilion  County  Medical  Society.  The  Illinois  Central 
Medical  Society,  The  Chicago  Medical  Society,  The  Illinois  State  Medical  So- 
ciety, the  Mississippi  Valley  Medical  Society,  and  the  American  Medical  Society. 
He  was  very  active  in  all  these  organizations  and  a  tireless  worker  in  every  line 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  311 

of  professional  work.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  International  Medical  Congress 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1888. 

Dr.  Jones  was  an  earnest  student  and  a  ready  worker.  He  was  one  of 
those  rare  physicians  who  seemed  to  have  the  healing  touch.  It  has  been  said 
that,  although  having  died  years  ago,  yet  is  remembered  and  more  often  men- 
tioned and  quoted  than  any  other  physician  in  Vermilion  County.  Dr.  Jones  gave 
his  strength  and  efforts  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  among  his  friends  and 
-.yhen  his  health  failed,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  Bermuda  Islands  to  re- 
cuperate, he  died,  January,  1895. 

The  advance  in  the  profession  of  medicine  has  been  rapid  and  far  reach- 
ing during  the  last  few  years.  One  in  particular  of  the  resident  physicians  has 
made  a  good  record  in  his  special  work  so  that  he  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  six 
physicians  of  the  state  outside  of  Chicago  who  have  won  distinction  in  his 
particular  line. 

Dr.  W.  A.  Cochrane  takes  the  line  of  bacteriological  findings.  He  has  been 
working  in  this  line  of  investigation  for  four  or  more  years,  and  being  a  true 
scientist,  feels  that  he  has  but  just  begun  to  study.  Dr.  Cochrane  has  been  treat- 
ing tuberculosis  with  tuberculin  for  several  years  using-  the  opsonic  index.  He 
carries  on  a  line  of  original  investigation  with  painstaking  care  and  promises 
to  reach  greater  distinction.  Dr.  Cochrane  makes  all  diagnosis  of  infectious  diseases 
according  to  the  Wassermann  reaction.  While  there  are  other  physicians  who 
use  the  microscope,  and  may  become  experts  yet  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  Dr. 
Cochrane  will  distinguish  himself  and  reflect  credit  on  Vermilion  County  even 
to  a  greater  extent  in  the  future  in  the  line  which  he  is  following. 

Some  of  the  physicians  coming  to  Vermilion  County  before  1840  were  Dr. 
Davis,  Dr.  Holmes,  and  Dr.  A.  M.  C.  Hawes.  After  this  date  there  were  Dr. 
J.  R.  Holloway,  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Vredenburg,  and  Dr.  W.  D.  Craig. 

The  first  of  these  three  settled  in  Salem,  the  second  settled  in  Newtown  and 
lived  there  for  many  years,  a  country  practitioner,  who  learned  the  ills  to  which 
this  region  was  subjected  and  by  constant  practice  was  enabled  to  find  the  best 
way  of  effecting  cures.  Dr.  Craig,  Dr.  A.  H.  Kimbrough  and  Dr.  Qoyd  all 
were  located  in  Georgetown.  Dr.  Wilkins  was  another  practitioner  of  New- 
town.  Dr.  Porter,  Dr.  Ralston,  Dr.  J.  H.  Farris,  Dr.  Smith  and  Dr.  Griffin 
were  here  in  about  that  time.  Another  of  the  early  physicians  who  locate  in 
Newton  was  Dr.  O'Ferrell.  One  of  the  men  living  in  Danville  who  as  a  boy 
had  his  home  not  far  from  Newtown,  tells  with  a  kind  recollection  of  how  Dr. 
O'Ferrell  is  inseparately  connected  with  the  old  gray  horse  he  rode  when  go- 
ing on  his  professional  work.  To  this  man  Dr.  O'Ferrell  seemed  to  spend  his 
entire  time  on  that  one  horse.  The  tribute  paid  to  this  oldtime  physician  and 
his  personal  care  of  the  sick  is  well  worth  the  discomforts  of  that  early  day 
riding  around  the  country  to  heal  the  sick. 

A  little  later  Ridge  Farm  added  to  the  list  of  physicians  in  Vermilion  County 
the  names  of  Dr.  McCaffey,  Dr.  A.  A.  Sulcer,  Dr.  G.  R.  Steele,  and  Dr.  W.  R. 
Nash. 

Dr.  S.  W.  Jones  was  a  popular  physician  in  Catlin  before  he  moved  to  Dan- 
ville where  he  is  yet  living.  The  two  Drs.  Humphrey  were  located  in  Danville 


31  :J  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

at  an  early  date  and  were  quite  well  liked  practitioners.  Dr.  Balsch  (Georgetown), 
Dr.  John  R.  Livingood  (Rossville),  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Baum  (Indianola),  were  all 
prominent  in  the  profession  while  they  were  at  work.  Dr.  R.  Vandoren,  Dr. 
John  E.  Butz  (Potomac),  Dr.  S.  T.  Smith  (Oakwood),  Drs.  J.  L.  Hull,  Wm. 
Porter  (Higginsville). 

The  Vermilion  County  Medical  Society  has  been  in  existence  for  years 
but  interest  was  lagging  or  perhaps  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  as  indications  would 
show  when  in  1897  the  society  took  on  a  new  lease  of  life.  It  was  at  this  meet- 
ing that  the  following  physicians  were  present  and  a  new  society  or  rather  the 
old  one  was  given  new  life :  Drs.  Brown,  Fairhall,  T.  E.  Walton,  S.  C.  Clidden. 
R.  Gillett,  P.  H.  Barton,  W.  H.  Paul,  M.  L.  Horn,  M.  A.  Cochran,  J.  W.  Moore. 
E.  E.  Clar  and  J.  M.  Wright.  The  date  of  this  meeting  was  November  12. 
1897.  This  society  has  prospered  and  now  counts  about  one  hundred  members. 

In  the  spring  of  1903,  the  Vermilion  County  Medical  Society  became  af- 
filiated with  the  Illinois  State  Medical  Society,  and  the  members  of  the  Ver- 
milion County  were  also  members  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  That  implies 
a  stack  that  can  work  in  both  direction  for  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned 
the  members  of  one  of  the  societies  ought  to  be  the  member  of  both  to  do  the 
most  with  either.  The  members  of  the  Vermilion  County  Medical  Society  are  in 
large  majority  residents  of  Danville. 

The  Danville  Medical  society  is  another  society  more  in  the  nature  of  a 
club.  This  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  desire  on  the  part  of  a  limited  number  of 
physicians  to  do  post  graduate  work.  The  membership  is  so  far  limited  to 
twenty  and  comprise  those  who  are  anxious  to  advance  in  the  profession.  This 
society  holds  semi-monthly  meetings,  one  of  which  is  of  a  social  nature.  They 
have  rooms  nicely  fitted  up  in  the  Temple  building  and  have  constantly  on  file 
all  of  the  best  medical  journals  published  in  any  language.  A  librarian  is  in 
constant  attendance  and  everything  done  to  aid  and  encourage  each  in  the  ad- 
vancing methods  and  means  of  the  medical  profession. 

The  Aesculapian  Society  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  has  as  members  one  or 
two  of  the  Danville  physicians.  Dr.  E.  B.  Coolley  was  president  of  the  society 
in  1910.  Dr.  Coolley  is  one  of  Danville's  physicians. 

THE  DRUG  TRADE. 

In  the  early  days  of  Vermilion  County  drugs  and  medicines  were  a  part  of 
the  stock  in  trade  of  the  practicing  physician.  There  was  no  need  of  a  store 
where  one  would  go  to  buy  his  own  drugs.  The  fields  and  woods  furnished 
simple  helps  to  health  and  the  doctor  did  the  rest.  A  little  later  the  demand  for 
quinine,  calomel,  and  other  necessities  of  life  in  the  Wabash  valley,  was  met  by 
the  sale  of  these  independently  first  in  the  general  store  and  later  from  a  stock 
of  their  own.  Since  the  general  store  sold  drugs,  just  as  the  department  stores 
now  sell  them,  long  before  drug  stores  were  known,  it  is  difficult  to  establish  a 
date  when  the  trade  beg'an.  and  the  history  of  the  drug  trade  in  Vermilion  county 
must  of  necessity  become  a  history  of  the  trade  in  Danville.  The  pioneer  drug 
store  in  Danville  was  the  well  known  Woodbury  store  which  has  been  in  business 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  313 

continuously   for  nearly  fifty-one  years.     Last  winter  this  store  celebrated  the 
fiftieth  year  of  its  existence. 

When  W.  W.  R.  Woodbury  returned  to  Danville  after  having  finished  his 
studies  in  Rush  Medical  College,  in  1850,  he  became  a  druggist.  His  partner 
was  James  A.  D.  Sconce.  Mr.  Sconce  had  been  in  the  drug  trade  for  six  years, 
and  the  young  physician,  who  wanted  to  try  a  partnership  with  him,  paid  $563,6. 
The  firm  had  to  pay  the  enormous  sum  of  $75  per  year  for  rent.  Danville's  pop- 
ulation at  this  time  was  736.  All  merchandise  came  by  way  of  the  Wabash  river 
to  Perrysville  or  Covington,  Indiana,  thence  was  hauled  across  country.  There 
were  no  traveling  men  at  that  time,  and  all  the  drugs  must  needs  be  bought  by  the 
proprietor  going  to  the  eastern  cities  once  or  twice  per  year.  The  amount  of 
sales  of  this  firm  can  be  estimated  by  the  bill  yet  in  existence  from  one  firm  of  a 
purchase  at  one  semi-annual  trip  of  $2,000.  Their  customers  came  from  fifty 
miles  in  every  direction.  The  firm  of  Sconce  and  Woodbury  did  business  for 
three  years  and  then  Mr.  Sconce  sold  his  interest  to  Stephen  Mires  and  John  W. 
Mires.  The  firm  name  became  Woodbury  &  Co.,  and  this  arrangement  continued 
for  four  years.  Meanwhile  the  population  of  Danville  increased.  In  1857, 
another  change  in  the  firm  name  put  the  business  under  the  entire  charge  of  Mr. 
Woodbury,  and  from  that  time  until  1885  the  store  was  the  W.  W.  R.  Woodbury 
store.  In  1860  the  population  of  Danville  was  1,632  which  ten  years  before  this 
time  was  but  736.  In  1885  the  firm  name  changed  once  more,  becoming  A.  G. 
Woodbury.  In  1903  the  Woodbury  Drug  Co.  was  formed  and  the  business  has 
been  done  under  this  name  ever  since. 

Just  after  the  war  the  Jones  Bros.'  drug  store  was  opened  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Hazel  streets.  This  building  was  put  up  for  the  purpose  of  housing 
the  store  and  it  yet  remains  standing,  having  been  used  for  a  drug  store  for  forty 
years.  This  firm  comprised  Dr.  George  Wheeler  Jones  and  his  brother,  James 
S.  Jones  or  "Jim,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called.  Dr.  Jones  practiced  in  Danville 
and  the  country  surrounding,  and  his  brother  who  was  a  fine  business  man,  con- 
ducted the  drug  store.  This  firm  was  continued  until  the  death  of  the  younger 
brother.  The  stock  and  building  were  sold  to  Waterman  and  Irwin,  who 
continued  the  business.  In  1874  there  were  four  drug  stores  in  Danville. 
They  were  Woodbury's  Jones  Bros.',  E.  E.  Boudinot,  and  E.  C.  Winslow.  Baum's 
made  the  fifth.  The  Baum  drug  store  came  to  Danville  in  that  year.  The  next 
year  Irwin  and  Waterman  sold  out,  and  in  a  year  and  a  half,  Franz  came.  The 
Franz  drug  store  was  on  Vermilion  street  above  North  street.  He  sold  out  to 
Taylor  &  Bro.  &  Genung.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Kesper  on  Washington  ave., 
moved  to  Georgetown.  Dixon  succeeded  Hakey  on  East  Main  street.  Stickrod 
clerked  for  Nungesser  on  Vermilion  street.  Lindsey  had  a  store  on  Logan  ave. 
and  sold  out  to  Gus  Hall.  Gus  Hall,  on  north  Vermilion  street,  sold  to  Mr. 
Thomas.  Kesper  started  a  store  out  by  the  Junction  and  sold  out  to  Mr.  Ed- 
wards. Winslow  sold  his  stock  to  Stebe  and  he  sold  to  Johnson.  Morrow  bought 
out  Nungesser  and  Carter  and  shipped  the  stock  out  of  town.  Irwin  sold  his 
store  to  John  Boudinot,  who  kept  it  for  a  time  and  in  turn  sold  it  to  Johnson,  and 
Irwin  bought  it  back,  and  later  sold  it  to  Overman.  Franz  sold  his  store,  on 
Vermilion  street,  to  a  man  from  Milford,  who  in  turn  sold  to  the  Owen-Raney 
firm.  J.  W.  Plaster,  of  the  firm  of  Plaster  Drug  Co.,  started  his  store,  and 


314  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

has  been  running  it  continuously  since.  The  Baum  drug  store  started  in  Marsh- 
field,  Indiana,  being  a  branch  store  from  Covington,  Indiana.  In  1874,  a  branch 
store  was  started  at  Gibson  City  and  moved  to  Danville.  This  drug  store  was 
housed  in  the  room  on  Vermilion  street,  owned  by  D.  Gregg,  for  four  years  and 
two  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  it  was  moved  into  the  Daniels  building, 
where  it  remained  twelve  years.  In  1818,  Mr.  Baum  put  up  the  building  where 
he  is  at  present.  This  is  one  of  the  best  buildings  in  eastern  Illinois.  It  is  abso- 
lutely fire  proof,  being  built  entirely  of  steel  and  stone. 

HOSPITALS. 

LAKEVIEW. 

In  December,  1892,  Herman  Schuckai,  Chas.  A.  Crane,  Horace  Reed,  M.  S. 
Brown,  C.  H.  Little,  John  A.  Griffin,  Hiram  Woods,  C.  L.  Hawley,  Thos.  L. 
Spellman  applied  for  and  received  a  charter  for  the  formation  of  the  Protestant 
Hospital  Association,  afterwards  changed  to  Lake  View  Hospital  Association. 

They  rented  a  building  on  East  Fairchild  street  where  they  cared  for  patients 
until  the  present  building  was  completed  and  formally  dedicated  March  12,  1896. 
The  present  building  has  a  capacity  of  40  beds  with  a  modern  operating  room  and 
a  complete  sterilizing  plant.  They  treat  300  to  400  patients  a  year  and  number 
some  of  the  best  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  city  on  their  staff.  The  hospital 
maintains  a  training  school  for  nurses  containing  a  three-year  course  of  instruc- 
tion in  nursing  and  the  care  of  patients.  The  school  has  46  graduates  who  do 
private  nursing  and  10  young  ladies  in  training  at  present. 

ST.   ELIZABETH. 

The  St.  Elizabeth  hospital  was  established  in  Danville  in  1882,  August  i.  It 
was  housed  in  a  frame  building  but  soon  outgrew  that.  In  1888,  it  was  put  into 
the  new  building  where  more  conveniences  could  be  had.  This  was  the  only 
hospital  in  Vermilion  County  for  many  years  and  the  good  done  by  the  faithful 
sisters  can  never  be  estimated.  In  1900,  the  west  wing  was  added  and  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  hospital  was  increased.  But  yet  there  was  not  enough  room  for  all 
the  calls  made  up  on  the  care  demanded.  In  1904  another  addition  was  made  and 
since  that  time  the  hospital  has  been  complete.  The  building  is  large  airy,  and 
well  furnished.  It  is  well  lighted,  all  the  rooms  being  pleasant  and  so  arranged 
as  to  make  them  perfectly  sanitary.  Every  care  is  taken  and  there  is  no  better 
equipped  hospital  in  the  country  than  the  St.  Elizabeth  at  Danville.  The  capacity 
of  this  hospital  at  this  time  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  patients.  The  loca- 
tion on  the  corner  of  Green  and  Elizabeth  streets  is  one  of  advantage.  It  is  away 
from  the  noise  and  confusion  of  the  down  town  stores  and  yet  is  not  far  away 
from  travelled  streets.  The  trolley  runs  within  a  block  of  the  door  and  the  situa- 
tion is  quite  favorable.  The  St.  Elizabeth  hospital  is  an  institution  of  which  Dan- 
ville may  well  be  proud  and  for  which  the  whole  county  needs  be  very  thankful. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
THE  BENCH  AND  BAR— THE  FEDERAL  COURT. 

THE  BENCH   AND  BAR. 

When  Illinois  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  a  state,  the  territory  which  now 
comprises  Vermilion  County,  was  practically  uninhabited,  with  the  possible  ex- 
ception of  a  few  hunters  and  trappers  who  had  no  permanent  places  of  abode. 
Crawford  County  at  that  time  extended  from  its  present  southern  boundary  as 
far  north  as  the  Wisconsin  line,  including  in  its  jurisdiction  the  entire  eastern 
section  of  the  state.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  Palestine,  a  small  town  on 
the  Wabash  river  at  the  foot  of  LaMotte  creek. 

Whenever  the  inhabitants  in  any  locality  became  sufficiently  numerous,  the 
old  county  was  divided,  and  a  new  one  struck  off.  So  it  was,  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  1818  Clark  County  was  created  from  the  northern  and  more  unsettled 
portion  of  Crawford.  Aurora,  the  county  seat,  was  a  little  village  on  the 
Wabash  river.  In  1823  Clark  County  in  turn  was  divided,  and  all  north  of  its 
present  northern  limits  was  termed  Edgar  County,  with  the  county  seat  at  Paris. 
By  1826  there  were  a  number  of  settlers  along  the  Vermilion  river.  A  new 
county  was  therefore  organized  and  called  Vermilion. 

At  that  time  Vermilion  County  extended  over  the  territory  now  included 
in  the  counties  of  Champaign,  Iroquois  and  Ford;  also  a  large  portion  of 
Livingston,  Grundy  and  Will.  But  as  the  population  increased,  these  counties 
were  cut  off  until  in  1859  Vermilion  had  assumed  the  proportions  which  it 
still  maintains. 

The  act  of  the  General  Assembly  which  established  Vermilion  County,  also 
provided  for  the  appointment  of  three  commissioners  whose  duty  it  was  to 
determine  upon  a  suitable  location  for  a  county  seat.  It  was  further  provided 
that  the  owners  of  such  land  as  might  be  selected  by  the  commission,  should 
donate  at  least  twenty  acres  to  the  county.  The  county  was  empowered  to 
have  a  sale  of  such  land,  the  proceeds  to  be  employed  in  the  erection  of  the 
necessary  county  buildings.  The  commissioners  selected  a  place  about  six  miles 
west  of  Danville  along  the  Salt  Fork  river.  The  lessee  of  the  land,  however, 
refused  to  surrender  the  requisite  twenty  acres.  A  new  commission  was  con- 
sequently appointed  by  the  governor,  and  on  January  31,  1827,  recommended 
that  the  county  seat  be  located  on  the  east  of  the  North  Fork  and  north  of  the 
Vermilion  rivers  upon  lands  donated  by  Dan  W.  Beckwith  and  Guy  W.  Smith. 
The  recommendation  met  with  approval,  and  the  county  seat  was  located  at 
its  present  site,  and  the  town  given  the  name  "Danville." 

315 


316  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  population  of  most  of  the  counties  was  very  small,  and  the  amount  of 
legal  business  correspondingly  small.  It  was  therefore  provided  under  the  con- 
stitution of  1818  to  have  one  circuit  judge  for  each  circuit,  which  was  composed 
of  several  counties.  All  the  judges  were  selected  by  a  joint  ballot  of  both 
branches  of  the  General  Assembly  and  held  office  during  good  behavior. 

The  first  court  held  in  this  county  was  by  Judge  James  A.  Wattles,  March 
6,  1826,  at  the  house  of  James  D.  Butler,  located  on  what  is  now  the  main 
street  of  Catlin.  In  1827  Judge  William  Wilson  held  court  at  the  houses  of 
Asa  Elliott,  in  Butler's  Point,  and  Amos  Williams,  which  was  located  within 
the  limits  of  Danville,  the  new  county  seat.  The  first  court  house,  which  was 
completed  in  1829,  was  a  small,  incommodious  structure,  situated  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  square.  The  rapidly  increasing  legal  business  soon  rendered 
it  entirely  inadequate.  Plans  were  made  for  a  larger  and  better  building,  but 
it  was  not  until  1833,  however,  that  a  new  brick  court  house  was  constructed 
on  the  northeast  corner' of  the  square.  The  new  building  was  two  stories  in 
height  and  about  fifty  feet  square.  The  lower  floor  was  used  for  the  court 
room,  the  second  floor  for  the  jury  rooms,  and  a  few  of  the  county  offices. 

There  was  no  provision  in  the  constitution  of  1818  for  a  county  judge. 
The  probate  work  of  the  county  was  transacted  before  a  probate  justice  of 
the  peace.  Amos  Williams,  who  held  many  offices  of  public  trust,  served  in 
that  capacity  from  1826  until  1837.  He  was  succeeded  by  Norman  D.  Palmer, 
who  held  the  office  until  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1848,  which  placed 
the  jurisdiction  of  probate  matters  in  a  county  judge. 

Since  the  legal  business  arising  in  any  county  at  this  time  was  so  small,  it 
was  the  custom  for  attorneys  to  itinerate  the  circuit  attending  the  holdings  of 
court  at  the  various  .county  seats.  Many  men  of  ability  and  prominence  ap- 
peared regularly  at  the  sessions  of  court  held  in  Vermilion  County.  One  of 
the  most  successful  and  popular  of  the  non-resident  attorneys  was  Abraham 
Lincoln,  who,  although  living  in  Springfield,  did  an  extensive  business  in  this 
county.  Judge  Treat,  who  later  served  as  a  federal  judge,  held  court  in  Ver- 
milion County  during  the  'forties.  The  names  of  E.  D.  Baker  who  later  served 
a  term  as  governor  of  Oregon,  Judge  David  Davis,  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  and  United  States  Senate,  Usher  F.  Linder,  Leonard  P.  Sweat 
and  D.  W.  Voorhees,  stand  out  preeminent  as  the  leading  practitioners  of  their 
day. 

The  construction  of  numerous  railroads  and  the  development  of  the  water 
route  around  the  Great  Lakes,  making  the  markets  of  the  more  settled  east 
accessible  to  the  western  producers,  tended  to  draw  home-seekers  to  the  fertile 
fields  of  Illinois.  Therefore,  by  1848,  the  legislators  deemed  it  necessary  to 
adopt  a  new  constitution  to  meet  the  changed  conditions  due  to  the  great  in- 
crease in  population  and  the  increased  commercial  activity.  The  new  constitu- 
tion provided  for  a  supreme  court,  composed  of  three  judges  elected  by  the 
people  for  a  term  of  nine  years  at  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
The  General  Assembly  was  to  divide  the  state  into  nine  judicial  circuits,  each 
of  which  would  include  several  counties,  and  would  be  presided  over  by  a 
circuit  judge  elected  by  the  people,  and  who  was  to  serve  for  a  term  of  six 
years,  at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Provision  was  made  for  a 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  317 

state's  attorney  in  each  circuit  whose  term  of  office  was  to  be  for  four  years. 
Jurisdiction  over  all  probate  matters  was  given  to  a  county  judge  to  be  elected 
by  the  people  of  each  county  for  four  years. 

The  first  circuit  judge  elected  for  the  fourth  circuit,  which  included  the 
counties  of  Coles,  Douglas,  Champaign,  Piatt,  Moultrie,  Macon  and  Vermilion, 
was  the  Honorable  David  Davis,  who  occupied  the  bench  from  1849  until  1861. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Honorable  Oliver  L.  Davis,  who  held  the  office  until 
June,  1866,  when  he  resigned  to  resume  active  practice,  Judge  James  Steele 
being  appointed  by  the  governor  to  finish  out  the  unexpired  term. 

Joseph  G.  Cannon  was  twice  elected  to  the  office  of  state's  attorney,  hold- 
ing that  position  from  1860  until  1868.  Mr.  Cannon  was  a  resident  of  Tuscola, 
where  he  practiced  law  until  1872,  when  he  was  elected  to  congress.  In  1876 
he  removed  to  Danville,  and  since  that  time  has  represented  his  district  almost 
continuously. 

When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  in  1861,  three  of  the  then  practicing  attorneys 
responded  to  the  call  for  volunteers — Col.  Oscar  F.  Harmon,  Capt.  William 
W.  Fellows  and  Lieut.  Raymond  W.  Hanford.  The  two  first  named  of  these 
brave  soldiers  met  their  death  after  three  years  of  honorable  service  at  the 
battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain  June  27,  1864.  Lieut.  Hanford  was  captured  at 
Trenton,  Tennessee,  and  paroled. 

During  the  war  Danville  was  the  scene  of  several  outbreaks,  in  which  two 
or  three  lives  were  lost.  Criminal  proceedings  were  instituted,  however,  in 
but  one  case — that  of  the  killing  of  Mr.  Lamm — and  the  crimes  went  unpun- 
ished except  for  private  retribution. 

Immediately  after  the  war,  Danville  took  on  a  more  rapid  growth.  The 
Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes,  and  what  is  now  the  Peoria  division  of  the 
Big  Four  railroads,  were  all  built  at  about  this  time.  The  output  of  the  coal 
fields  around  the  city  was  consequently  greatly  increased,  since  a  ready  market 
was  obtainable  for  all  the  coal  produced.  The  rising  importance  of  Danville 
as  a  business  and  commercial  center  attracted,  among  other  business  and  pro- 
fessional men,  a  number  of  young  lawyers  who  were  looking  for  a  suitable 
location.  Some  of  these  men  have  had  long  and  honorable  careers  in  their 
chosen  profession  and  their  names  are  familiar  to  all  of  us. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  active  was  J.  B.  Mann,  who  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  1867,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  O.  L.  Davis.  Mr.  Mann 
was  the  first  city  attorney  of  Danville,  elected  in  1867.  After  Judge  O.  L. 
Davis  returned  to  the  bench  in  1873,  Mr.  Mann  entered  into  partnership  with 
the  Honorable  W.  J.  Calhoun  and  D.  C.  Frazier,  which  firm  was  one  of  the 
strongest  in  this  section  of  the  country.  In  1892  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where 
he  remained  until  1902,  when  he  returned  to  this  city  and  resumed  his  practice. 
Mr.  Mann  is  one  of  the  most  honored  and  respected  members  of  the  bar,  and 
at  present  holds  the  position  of  corporation  counsel  of  the  city  of  Danville. 

The  Honorable  W.  J.  Calhoun  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  1875  with 
J.  B.  Mann,  and  was  eminently  successful.  He  left  this  city  in  1899  f°r  Chi- 
cago, which  offered  a  better  field  for  a  man  of  his  ability.  He  continued  as 
a  successful  practitioner  until  1910,  when  President  Taft  selected  him  as  United 
States  minister  to  China. 


818  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  Honorable  Ferdinand  Bookwalter  located  at  Danville  in  1872,  and  after 
twenty  years  as  a  successful  practitioner,  was  elected  to  the  circuit  bench,  where 
he  served  from  1891  until  his  death  in  1902. 

Another  attorney  who  spent  many  years  in  active  practice  was  Judge  D.  D. 
Evans,  who  came  here  in  1865.  He  was  elected  county  judge  for  two  succes- 
sive terms  from  1882  until  1890.  He  continued  in  the  practice  until  his  death 
in  1910. 

Among  other  prominent  attorneys  who  located  in  Danville  at  this  period 
(but  who,  because  of  the  brevity  of  this  article,  can  no  more  than  be  men- 
tioned), were  Hiram  Blackburn,  who  served  a  term  as  state's  attorney  and  as 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly;  Peter  Walsh,  who  also  served  a  term  as 
state's  attorney;  the  Honorable  W.  R.  Lawrence,  who  until  recently  was  a 
federal  judge  in  Oklahoma;  the  Honorable  Joseph  W.  Jones,  at  one  time  state's 
attorney  and  now  serving  as  circuit  judge  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota;  C.  M. 
Swallow;  Frank  Penwell;  Capt.  E.  Winter;  George  G.  Mabin;  G.  W.  Salmans; 
and  G.  F.  Ooburn,  all  of  whom  have  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation  for  honesty 
and  integrity. 

The  court  house  of  Vermilion  County  has  been  the  scene  of  many  hard 
fought  legal  battles,  some  of  which  have  aroused  intense  public  interest,  filling 
the  court  room  with  excited  listeners  from  the  beginning  of  a  case  to  its  close, 
while  some  have  dealt  with  the  most  profound  and  difficult  principles  of  the 
law. 

The  longest  drawn  out,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  litigations  arising 
in  this  county,  was  a  suit  involving  the  right  of  an  eleemosynary  corporation 
to  rent  for  profit  the  corporate  property,  after  the  corporation  had  ceased  to 
do  business  under  its  charter.  In  1850  the  Danville  Seminary  was  incorporated 
under  the  act  of  1849  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  conducting  institutions 
of  learning.  The  organization  was  effected  and  carried  on  by  members  of  the 
Methodist  church.  The  school  (which  was  called  the  Red  Seminary)  was 
located  on  two  acres  of  ground  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Pine 
streets.  The  Presbyterians  immediately  got  together  and  erected  the  White 
Seminary  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Vermilion  and  Seminary  streets.  Both 
schools  were  highly  efficient  and  a  credit  to  their  supporters.  Nevertheless,  the 
most  bitter  rivalry  developed  between  the  adherents  of  the  two  schools.  Fre- 
quent quarrels  and  harsh  words  were  indulged  in  between  the  two  factions. 
The  climax  was  reached  when  G.  W.  Cassidy  of  the  Methodists,  wrote  an 
article  attacking  Dr.  Fithian  of  the  Presbyterians.  Dr.  Fithian  brought  a  suit 
for  libel  and  recovered  a  judgment  which  he  collected.  For  a  number  of 
years  thereafter  Mr.  Cassidy  listed  for  taxation,  among  his  other  properties, 
"the  character  of  Dr.  Fithian,  valued  at  $400,"  which  Mr.  Cassidy  claimed  he 
had  bought  and  paid  for. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  present  public  school  system,  there  was  no 
further  need  for  the  seminaries  and  they  were  abandoned.  The  red  seminary 
was  leased  to  the  school  trustees  and  used  as  a  grade  school.  Thereupon,  in 
1876,  Mrs.  Melissa  Lemon  who  was  the  grantor  of  the  property  to  the  corpora- 
tion, brought  a  bill  in  equity  by  her  attorneys,  R.  D.  McDonald  and  Mann  & 
Calhoun,  praying  to  have  the  property  reconveyed  to  her  and  a  judgment  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  319 

ouster  against  the  corporation,  which  had  ceased  to  do  business  under  its  char- 
ter. D.  D.  Evans,  representing  the  defendant,  demurred  to  the  bill.  The  court 
sustained  the  demurrer.  The  upper  court  reversed  the  decision,  and  sent  the 
case  back  for  trial.  In  the  meantime,  the  Danville  Seminary  was  again  used  as 
a  school,  as  provided  in  its  charter.  The  case  was  dropped  for  a  while,  but 
when  the  corporation  again  endeavored  to  use  the  premises  for  other  than 
educational  purposes,  the  suit  was  reinstated.  R.  D.  McDonald  again  repre- 
sented the  plaintiff,  assisted  by  W.  R.  Lawrence.  D.  D.  Evans  represented  the 
defendant,  assisted  by  Mann  &  Calhoun.  The  court  found  for  the  plaintiff 
and  the  decree  was  upheld  by  the  upper  court  in  1892,  the  case  having  been 
on  the  docket  for  seventeen  years. 

In  1876,  the  case  of  Mary  Jane  Mann  vs.  David  S.  Blackburn  was  brought 
to  this  county,  by  a  change  of  venue,  from  Edgar  County.  The  action  was  one 
for  a  breach  of  promise  for  marriage  and  aroused  the  greatest  interest  in  this 
and  in  Edgar  County.  The  parties  to  the  suit  were  members  of  two  of  the 
most  prominent  families  in  Edgar  County,  the  defendant  being  considered  a 
very  wealthy  man.  The  plaintiff  was  represented  by  D.  W.  Voorhees,  the 
Honorable  R.  N.  Bishop  of  Paris,  and  J.  B.  Mann.  The  counsel  for  defendant 
were  Major  Jonathan  Gordon  of  Indianapolis,  the  Honorable  William  Mack  of 
Terre  Haute,  the  Honorable  Henry  S.  Van  Sellar  of  Paris,  and  Peter  Walsh 
of  Danville.  There  was  a  verdict  and  Judgment  for  $15,000  for  the  plaintiff 
which  was  then  a  record  in  such  a  case.  It  was  in  this  case  that  Major  Gordon 
created  a  great  sensation  by  what  is  known  among  lawyers  as  "dropping  the 
pigeon"  on  Mr.  Voorhees,  refusing  to  reply  to  the  opening  argument  of  the 
plaintiff  which  was  made  by  J.  B.  Mann.  The  defense  feared  the  terrible 
effect  of  the  well  known  eloquence  of  Mr.  Voorhees.  The  latter  has  many 
times  told  his  friends  that  it  was  his  belief  that  had  he  been  allowed  to  address 
the  jury,  his  argument  would  have  been  the  best  of  his  life.  After  taking  a 
long  course  through  the  courts,  the  plaintiff  collected  her  judgment  in  full. 

One  of  the  most  important  cases  which  ever  came  before  Judge  Bookwalter 
was  the  case  of  James  P.  Fletcher  vs.  Walter  C.  Tuttle,  county  clerk,  reported 
in  151  111.  41.  In  that  case  Mr.  Fletcher,  a  republican,  was  a  candidate  for 
the  legislature,  and  he  filed  a  bill  in  the  circuit  court  for  injunction  claiming  that 
the  act  of  1893,  apportioning  the  state  into  senatorial  districts  was  unconsti- 
tutional, and  asking  that  Mr.  Tuttle,  as  county  clerk  of  Vermilion  county,  be 
restrained  from  issuing  or  causing  to  be  posted  notices  of  election  according  to 
that  act,  and  asking  that  the  old  district  be  recognized  instead  of  the  one  es- 
tablished under  the  new  act.  It  attracted  more  than  local  attention  because  of 
the  fact  that  it  affected  every  district  in  the  state  and  was,  in  its  nature,  a 
political  issue  between  the  republican  and  democratic  parties,  and  the  prominent 
politicians  of  the  state  took  an  active  interest  in  the  matter  and  some  of  the 
ablest  attorneys  in  the  state  were  engaged  in  the  case.  Those  representing 
Mr.  Fletcher  were  George  Hunt,  formerly  attorney  general  of  the  state,  Wil- 
liam J.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  E.  S.  Smith.  Those  representing  the  defense  were 
Morris  T.  Maloney,  then  attorney  general  of  the  state,  T.  J.  Scofield,  M.  L. 
Newell,  James  M.  Graham  and  S.  G.  Wilson,  then  state's  attorney  of  Vermilion 
county.  The  argument  in  the  case  took  a  large  range  and  covered  the  under- 


320  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

lying  constitutional  questions.  The  prominent  newspapers  of  the  state  took 
great  interest  in  the  case  and  had  their  reporters  here  to  take  all  of  the  speeches 
and  the  opinion  of  the  court  in  shorthand  and  a  full  report  of  the  proceedings 
was  telegraphed  daily  to  the  leading  Chicago  newspapers  as  well  as  other  large 
newspapers  in  the  state.  Judge  Bookwalter  finally  decided  that,  since  the  suit 
was  brought  in  a  court  of  chancery,  complainant  was  not  entitled  to  any  relief 
because  a  court  of  chancery  had  no  jurisdiction  over  a  political  question,  and 
this  holding  of  Judge  Bookwalter  was  afterwards  sustained  by  the  supreme 
court. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois  vs.  Davis  was  a  case  brought  from  Cook 
County  to  Vermilion  on  a  change  of  venue.  W.  J.  Davis  was  indicted  for  man- 
slaughter for  the  alleged  killing  of  Vivian  Jackson  in  the  Iroquois  Theater 
at  Chicago,  December  30,  1903.  J.  J.  Haley,  W.  Barber,  J.  W.  Keeslar,  W.  T.  Gunn 
and  George  T.  Buckingham  represented  the  People,  and  Levy  Mayer,  Alfred 
Austrian  and  W.  J.  Calhoun,  of  Chicago,  and  J.  B.  Mann,  of  Danville,  and 
Isaac  Craig,  of  Mattoon,  defended.  The  Honorable  E.  R.  E.  Kimbrough  was 
the  presiding  judge.  Over  two  hundred  witnesses  had  been  brought  from  Chi- 
cago to  testify  for  the  People.  After  the  jury  has  been  sworn,  and  while  the 
first  witness  was  testifying,  the  court  ruled  that  the  State  should  introduce  the 
fire  ordinance  of  the  city  of  Chicago  upon  the  violation  of  which  manslaughter 
was  charged.  The  ordinance  was  objected  to  as  void  on  the  grounds  that, 
first,  it  did  not  enclose  the  territory  suposed  to  be  included;  second,  the  ordi- 
nance was  uncertain;  third,  the  ordinance  was  discriminative  (a)  by  its  terms 
placing  heavier  burdens  on  theaters  than  on  other  buildings,  (b)  by  applying 
unequally  to  theaters,  (c)  including  only  part  of  the  theaters  in  the  city,  (d)  by 
having  arbitrary  boundaries.  If  it  was  void,  the  State  had  no  case;  if  valid  they 
had  a  case  to  go  before  the  jury.  On  the  opening  objection,  Levy  Meyer  talked 
three  days.  Mr.  Keeslar  and  Mr.  Buckingham  replied  in  one  day.  Mr.  Mayer, 
Mr.  Mann  and  Mr.  Calhoun  rejoined  in  another  day.  The  court  held  the  ordi- 
nance void,  and  directed  the  jury  the  acquit  the  defendant.  The  universal  opinion 
was  that  while  the  fire  was  a  most  terrible  thing,  that  as  a  legal  proposition  the 
defendant  was  guilty  of  no  crime. 

The  Danville  Water  Company  vs.  the  City  of  Danville.  On  January  17,  1895, 
the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Danville,  conceiving  that  the  rates  which  were 
charged  by  the  Water  Company  for  hydrant  rentals,  and  also  the  rates  to  private 
consumers,  were  too  high,  passed  two  ordinances  which  effected  a  reduction  of 
the  rate  which  were  fixed  in  the  original  ordinances  passed  by  the  city  council 
in  1882,  and  certain  amendatory  ordinances  passed  from  time  to  time,  by  the 
terms -of  which  additional  fire  hydrants  were  located  and  rented. 

In  1895  the  number  of  hydrants  rented  by  the  city  was  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight.  By  the  terms  of  the  old  ordinances,  the  rentals  varied  from  $75 
per  annum  for  the  first  one  hundred  to  $62.50  for  the  next  forty,  and 
$50  per  annum  for  the  excess.  By  the  new  ordinances  the  price  of  the  first 
one  hundred  and  forty  was  fixed  at  $50  per  annum,  and  for  the  others  above 
that  number,  at  $40.  This  being  considered  by  the  Water  Company  as  an  in- 
vasion of  the  terms  of  its  contract,  began  suit  in  the  circuit  court  by  their  at- 


MORTOX  W.  THOMPSON 


FRANK  LINDLEY 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  321 

torneys,  W.  R.  Lawrence  and  J.  B.  Mann,  for  the  water  rental  at  the  old  rents, 
for  the  first  quarter  ensuing  after  the  passage  of  the  ordinance. 

To  this  contention  and  position  of  the  Water  Company,  the  city,  by  George 
F.  Rearick,  its  attorney,  replied  that  by  the  new  ordinance  in  question,  the  rates 
had  been  fixed  at  a  less  sum,  and  that  the  rates  fixed  in  the  first  ordinances  were 
not  unalterable  for  the  full  term  of  the  thirty  years  which  was  the  length  of  the 
franchise,  and  that  the  city  had  the  right,  from  time  to  time,  so  often  as  be- 
came necessary,  to  regulate  the  rates,  both  as  to  the  public  consumption  and  to 
private  consumers,  so  long  as  the  price  was  not  reduced  below  what  was  just 
and  reasonable  compensation  for  the  services  rendered. 

The  Honorable  Ferdinand  Bookwalter  decided  in  favor  of  the  Water  Com- 
pany and  held  that  the  original  ordinances  constituted  an  irrevocable  contract, 
and,  therefore,  the  new  ordinances  were  invalid,  and  gave  judgment  for  the  full 
amount  claimed,  on  the  basis  of  the  old  rates. 

The  city  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state.  This  court  at  the 
first  hearing,  decided  by  a  divided  court  of  four  to  three,  in  favor  of  the  con- 
tention of  the  Water  Company,  but  afterwards  granted  a  rehearing,  and  the 
case  was  reargued  by  oral  argument.  After  this  rehearing,  the  court  reversed 
its  former  position,  and  by  a  division  of  four  judges  against  three,  decided  that 
the  contention  of  the  city  was  right,  and  that  the  original  ordinances  did  not  con- 
stitute a  contract  for  the  unalterable  rate  fixed  for  the  term  of  thirty  years  in 
advance,  but  constituted  only  a  rate  which  was  prima  facie  valid  until  it  was 
attacked  and  shown  to  be  unreasonable. 

The  case  being  reversed  by  the  supreme  court  of  this  state,  was  sent  back 
to  the  circuit  court,  with  directions  to  sustain  the  city's  contention.  The  cir- 
cuit court  did  this,  and  the  water  company  then  perfected  an  appeal  to  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state  which  confirmed  its  former  opinion.  Then  the 
water  company  perfected  an  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States, 
where  the  same  question  was  again  urged,  viz. :  that  the  new  ordinances  violated 
that  section  of  the  United  States  constitution  which  prohibits  any  ordinance 
impairing  any  obligation  of  a  contract. 

Meanwhile  similar  controversies  had  arisen  in  the  municipality  of  Rogers 
Park  and  in  the  city  of  Freeport,  and  the  three  cases  involving  the  same  gen- 
eral principles  were  heard  and  considered  by  the  United  States  supreme  court 
at  the  same  time.  The  Water  Company  was  represented  by  W.  R.  Lawrence, 
J.  B.  Mann,  Alexander  Humphreys  and  William  Davies ;  the  city,  by  George  F. 
Rearick  and  John  Lewman. 

This  court  after  full  consideration  decided  by  a  divided  court  of  five  to  four, 
that  the  city  did  have  the  right  from  time  to  time  to  regulate  the  rates,  and  that 
the  old  ordinances  did  not  have  the  force  of  an  unalterable  contract.  The  de- 
cision of  the  United  States  supreme  court  was  handed  down  March  25,  1901. 
The  case  was,  therefore,  in  the  courts  for  over  six  years. 

It  settled  a  very  important  principle  governing  the  relation  between  public 
service  corporations  and  the  public,  viz. :  That  the  business  of  such  corporation 
being  impressed  with  the  public  interests,  the  public  have  the  right  to  fix  the 
charges  to  be  made  by  such  corporation,  but  with  this  limitation,  that  the  price 


322  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

so  fixed  must  always  be  just  and  reasonable  both  to  the  public  and  the  con- 
sumer on  the  one  hand,  and  the  corporation  furnishing  the  service,  on  the 
other. 

The  court  house  erected  in  1833  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1872  and  it  was  the 
belief  of  many  that  the  fire  was  incendiary,  as  the  old  building  had  become  an 
eyesore  to  some  of  the  more  progressive  residents  of  the  city.  The  present  court 
house  was  completed  in  1876.  During  its  construction,  court  was  held  in  the 
opera  house  at  the  corner  of  Vermilion  and  North  streets.  The  new  structure 
was  a  very  imposing  one  for  that  time,  but  it  has  also  served  its  day  of  use- 
fulness and  is  soon  to  give  way  to  a  larger  and  more  handsome  edifice. 

The  Honorable  O.  L.  Davis  returned  to  the  circuit  bench  in  1873,  and  served 
faithfully  for  twelve  years,  after  which  he  practiced  until  his  death  in  1892. 

The  Honorable  Jacob  W.  Wilkin  moved  to  this  city  from  Marshall,  in 
1885.  Judge  Wilkin  had  served  one  term  as  a  circuit  judge  in  this  circuit,  and 
had  just  been  reelected.  In  1888  he  aspired  to  the  position  of  supreme  justice 
of  the  state  of  Illinois  and  was  elected.  He  filled  that  position  honorably  and 
well  until  his  death  in  1907. 

The  unexpired  term  of  Judge  Wilkin  on  the  circuit  bench  was  filled  by 
Judge  Vail,  of  Decatur.  In  1891,  the  Honorable  Ferdinand  Bookwalter  was 
elected  to  the  bench  and  served  until  1902. 

At  present  the  Vermilion  County  bar  numbers  over  one  hundred,  including 
in  its  membership  some  of  the  ablest  and  best  known  attorneys  in  the  state  of 
Illinois. 

The  Honorable  E.  R.  E.  Kimbrough  is  one  of  the  most  respected ;  he  located 
here  in  1876  and  practiced  until  called  to  the  circuit  bench  in  1902,  which  office 
he  still  holds,  having  been  reelected  in  1909. 

The  Honorable  Morton  W.  Thompson  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
1884.  He  was  appointed  county  judge  in  1897  and  elected  to  that  position  the 
following  year.  Judge  Thompson  was  elected  circuit  judge  in  1903  and  re- 
elected  in  1909. 

One  of  the  best  and  most  eloquent  lawyers  of  whom  Vermilion  County 
boasts  is  George  T.  Buckingham,  who,  though  now  removed  to  Chicago,  is 
looked  upon  as  a  native  son. 

George  F.  Rearick  enjoys  a  most  enviable  reputation  and  is  a  man  ot  sterling 
worth.  He  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  lawyers  that  Vermilion  County  has 
produced. 

O.  M.  Jones  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  exceptional  ability,  his  demeanor 
and  eloquence  rendering  him  extremely  effective  before  a  jury. 

H.  M.  Steely  came  to  Danville  from  Hoopeston  in  1892  and  enjoys  a  large 
and  extensive  practice. 

The  Honorable  Isaac  A.  Love,  county  judge  from  1906  to  1909  is  again  en- 
gaged in  active  practice  in  this  city. 

The  Honorable  Charles  A.  Allen,  of  Hoopeston,  and  Senator  Martin  B. 
Bailey,  of  Danville,  have  gained  state  wide  prominence  as  members  of  the 
state  legislature. 

Among  the  younger  well  known  attorneys  are  the  Honorable  S.  Murray 
Clark,  one  time  county  judge;  Frank  Lindley;  James  A.  Meeks,  master  in  chan- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  323 

eery ;  A.  A.  Partlow,  who  served  six  years  as  master  in  chancery ;  Ex-Senator 
Wm.  A.  Acton ;  John  Lewman,  the  present  state's  attorney ;  the  Honorable 
Lawrence  T.  Allen,  county  judge,  and  Honorable  Clinton  Abernathy,  who, 
though  not  a  member  of  the  bar,  has  been  elected  to  the  newly  created  office  of 
probate  judge. 

THE   FEDERAL   COURT. 

A  history  of  Vermilion  County  or  of  the  city  of  Danville  would  not  be 
complete,  at  this  time,  without  at  least  a  brief  mention  of  the  United  States 
circuit  and  district  courts  for  the  eastern  district  of  Illinois,  of  which  district 
Vermilion  County  is  a  part.  The  history  of  the  federal  courts  at  Danville  dates 
back  to  about  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  present  old  "federal"  building  on 
the  northwest  corner  of  Vermilion  and  Harrison  streets.  Lawyers  and  men  of 
business  interests  had  long  felt  the  need  of,  and  advantage  to  be  derived  from 
the  location  of  a  federal  court  at  Danville.  Prior  to  the  organization  of  the 
eastern  district  of  Illinois,  Vermilion  County  was  a  component  part  of  the 
southern  district  of  Illinois,  with  the  seat  of  the  courts  at  Springfield.  While 
it  was  apparent  that  changes  were  necessary,  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  to 
establish  a  new  division  of  the  then  southern  district  of  Illinois,  but  on  July  2, 
1890,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  national  congress  providing  that  a  session  of 
United  States  circuit  and  district  courts  for  the  southern  district  of  Illinois 
should  be  held  at  Danville,  beginning  on  the  first  Monday  of  May  of  each  year. 
Accordingly  when  the  bill  was  introduced  in  congress,  which  was  passed  on 
March  3,  1891,  appropriating  money  with  which  to  erect  a  post  office  building 
at  Danville,  the  necessary  steps  were  taken  to  provide  adequate  quarters  and 
accommodations  for  the  federal  courts  which  were  then  expected  to  be  held. 
Provisions  were  made  for  a  deputy  clerk  and  a  deputy  United  States  marshal 
to  be  permanently  located  here.  It  was  only  expected  that  the  other  officers 
of  the  courts  would  be  at  Danville  when  the  courts  were  in  session  as  was 
provided,  twice  each  year.  And  such,  for  many  years,  was  the  case. 

.By  reason  of  the  growth  in  population  as  well  as  the  industrial  growth  of 
the  state,  and  the  increase  of  business  in  the  federal  courts  as  then  established 
in  Illinois,  it  eventually  became  evident  that  a  reorganization  of  the  districts 
of  the  state  was  necessary.  So,  after  extensive  consideration  by  the  then  fed- 
eral judges,  the  several  congressmen  and  the  senators  from  the  state,  a  plan 
was  agreed  upon  whereby  the  state  was  to  be  redistricted  and  three  districts 
to  be  formed  instead  of  two. 

On  March  3d,  1905,  a  bill  was  passed  by  congress  providing  in  part  as  fol- 
lows :  "That  there  shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  created,  an  additional  judicial  dis- 
trict in  the  state  of  Illinois  to  be  known  as  the  eastern  district  of  Illinois,  and 
the  same  shall  consist  of  the  following  named  counties  in  Illinois,  to-wit :  Kan- 
kakee,  Iroquois,  Ford,  Vermilion,  Champaign,  Piatt,  Moultrie,  Douglas,  Edgar, 
Shelby,  Coles,  Clark,  Cumberland,  Effingham,  Fayette  Marion,  Clay,  Jasper, 
Crawford,  Lawrence,  Richland,  Clinton,  Saint  Clair,  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Wayne,  Edwards,  Wabash,  White,  Hamilton,  Franklin,  Perry,  Randolph,  Mon- 
roe, Gallatin,  Saline,  Williamson,  Jackson,  Hardin,  Pope,  Johnson,  Union, 
Alexander,  Pulaski  and  Massac." 


324  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

"That  the  terms  of  the  circuit  and  district  courts  in  and  for  said  eastern 
district  of  Illinois,  shall  be  held  at  the  city  of  Danville,  commencing  on  the 
first  Mondays  of  March  and  September  of  each  year,  and  at  the  city  of  Cairo, 
commencing  on  the  first  Mondays  of  April  and  October  of  each  year,  and  at 
the  city  of  East  Saint  Louis,  commencing  on  the  first  Mondays  of  May  and 
November  of  each  year." 

The  following  persons  were  appointed  officers  of  the  courts  for  the  new 
district :  Judge  Francis  M.  Wright  of  Urbana,  well  known  to  the  state  as  a 
profound  lawyer,  with  a  splendid  record  on  the  bench  of  the  circuit  and  appel- 
late courts  of  Illinois,  and  a  then  justice  of  the  national  court  of  claims,  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  was  appointed  judge  of  the  dictrict  court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  eastern  district  of  Illinois,  by  President  Roosevelt,  and  became 
the  presiding  judge  of  the  circuit  and  district  courts  of  the  United  States  for 
that  district.  Major  Daniel  Hogan,  of  Mound  City,  was  appointed  clerk  of  both 
the  circuit  and  district  courts;  Hon.  Charles  P.  Hitch,  of  Paris,  was  appointed 
United  States  marshal,  and  Hon.  William  E.  Trautmann  of  East  St.  Louis,  was 
appointed  United  States  attorney. 

The  seat  of  the  court  was  immediately  established  at  Danville,  where  all 
the  records  and  files  of  both  courts  were  to  be  kept,  and  which  became  the  of- 
ficial home  of  all  the  officers. 

Scarcely  were  they  well  organized  when  it  became  evident  that  the  rooms 
provided  in  the  old  building  were  inadequate  for  the  business  to  be  transacted 
by  the  officers  of  the  courts  and  their  assistants.  From  the  beginning  it  was 
apparent  that,  from  the  point  of  business  transacted  therein,  the  eastern  dis- 
trict of  Illinois  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most  important  districts  in 
the  entire  United  States. 

The  territory  embraced  within  the  eastern  judicial  district  of  Illinois  is 
unique  in  its  commercial  and  industrial  importance.  It  is  bounded  on  three 
sides  by  navigable  waters,  the  Wabash,  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  all  of 
which  come  within  the  admiralty  jurisdiction  of  these  courts.  Within  the  dis- 
trict are  to  be  found  the  most  extensively  developed  coal  fields,  and  the  most 
productive  oil  fields  in  the  United  States,  while  at  East  St.  Louis,  within  the 
district,  are  to  be  found  the  largest  stock  markets  as  well  as  the  second  largest 
railroad  terminals  in  the  world,  while  foundries  and  factories  are  numerous 
throughout  the  district.  Wherever  such  natural  advantages  and  industries  as 
these  are  found,  there  is  also  found  business  for  the  courts,  in  settling  dis- 
putes and  determining  the  sundry  litigations  which  arise.  By  reason  of  the 
diversity  of  citizenship  between  parties  engaged  in  the  commerce  and  in  con- 
ducting these  industries  a  great  volume  of  this  litigation  finds  its  way  into  the 
federal  courts  of  the  district. 

By  the  report  of  the  attorney  general  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1909,  it  is  found  that  in  point  of  business  transacted,  barring  bankruptcy,  the 
United  States  courts  of  the  eastern  district  of  Illinois  ranked  fourth  in  the 
United  States.  The  courts  for  New  York,  Chicago  and  Pittsburg,  only,  in  the 
order  named,  surpass  the  United  States  courts  at  Danville,  in  the  number  of 
cases  begun  and  disposed  of  during  that  year. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  325 

The  absolute  necessity  of  a  new  federal  building  of  sufficient  size  to 
accommodate,  and  in  keeping  with  the  importance  of  these  courts  had  for  some 
time  been  well  established.  $275,000  was  set  apart  in  the  appropriations  by  con- 
gress in  May,  1908,  with  which  to  purchase  a  new  site  and  erect  the  new  build- 
ing. An  exchange  of  properties  was  effected  between  the  National  govern- 
ment and  the  heirs  of  Michael  Kelly,  whereby  the  Government  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  "Kelly  homestead,"  the  one  time  home  of  Judge  Oliver  L.  Davis, 
that  eminent  jurist  of  which  all  citizens  of  Vermilion  County  are  justly  proud, 
the  consideration  being  exchange  of  properties  and  $54,000  to  the  heirs  of  Michael 
Kelly. 

When  the  plans  for  the  new  building  were  drawn  to  come  within  the  appro- 
priation remaining,  they  were  found  to  be  yet  inadequate  and  insufficient.  So 
an  additional  $100,000  was  appropriated  by  Congress,  in  March.  1909,  that  the 
plans  might  be  enlarged  and  made  sufficiently  comprehensive.  In  September, 
1909,  the  new  building  was  begun  which,  at  this  writing,  is  not  yet  complete. 
Sufficient  progress  has  been  made,  however,  to  say  that  when  completed  it  will 
be  a  structure  to  which  the  citizens  of  Danville  and  of  Vermilion  County  may 
point  with  pride,  and  a  fitting  monument  to  the  historic  ground  on  which  it 
stands.  Could  fate  have  wrought  a  more  fitting  deed,  than  to  build  a  splendid 
temple  of  justice  on  the  spot  where  that  great  jurist  lived,  and  which  he  loved, 
and  where  law,  and  eminence,  and  justice  in  part,  were  born  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCATION 


TOWNSHIP — HOW    A     SCHOOL     WAS     ESTABLISHED ELISHA     HOBBS VERMILION 

SEMINARY ONE  OF  THE  FIRST  SCHOOLS  IN  DANVILLE THE  DANVILLE  ACADEMY 

THE  GEORGETOWN  SEMINARY THE  DANVILLE  SEMINARY THE  UNION  SEMI- 
NARY  SEMINARIES  GIVE  PLACE  TO  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL — SCHOOLS  IN  OAK- 
WOOD  TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS  IN  PILOT  TOWNSHIP SCHOOL  AT  DENMARK THE 

LAMB    SCHOOL THE    CUNNINGHAM    SCHOOL EARLY    SCHOOLS    IN    DANVILLE 

AMOS    WILLIAMS    BUILDS    A    SCHOOL    HOUSE — JAMES   DAVIS MRS.    CROMWELL 

THE   PUBLIC    SCHOOLS    IN    VERMILION    COUNTY PRIVATE    SCHOOLS. 

The  first  school  taught  in  Vermilion  County  is  said  to  have  been  in  Elwood 
township.  It  was  in  a  log  school  house  one  mile  west  of  Vermilion  station.  Reu- 
ben Black,  a  lad  of  eighteen,  came  from  Ohio  and  in  the  winter  of  1824-25,  se- 
cured enough  subscription  pupils  to  make  it  worth  his  while  to  open  a  school.  He 
taught  one  winter.  John  Mills  sent  four  children — three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Joseph  Jackson,  an  Englishman,  sent  two  children;  Ezekial  Hollingsworth  sent 
four  children ;  Henry  Canaday  sent  one ;  John  Haworth  sent  three ;  making  four- 
teen in  all.  The  branches  taught  were  reading,  spelling,  writing  and  some  of  the 
older  pupils  were  taught  arithmetic.  So  it  was  that  these  fourteen  children,  Ira, 
Millican,  John  and  Rebecca  Mills,  Nathan  and  Mary  Jackson,  Jeremiah,  Miles, 
Mahunday  and  John  Hollingsworth,  William  Canaday  and  Thomas,  David  and 
Elvin  Haworth  were  the  first  children  to  go  to  school  in  Vermilion  County.  This 
was  two  years  and  more  before  any  one  lived  in  Danville.  In  1827  two  miles 
northeast  of  Vermilion  station  there  was  another  school  taught.  This  time  the 
teacher  was  a  preacher  from  East  Tennessee,  of  the  Methodist  faith,  Mr.  Elijah 
Yager  by  name.  He  took  a  step  beyond  the  Ohio  teacher  and  introduced  com- 
mon arithmetic  and  declamation.  He  was  a  talented  man  for  the  times  but  his 
employers  must  not  have  appreciated  him  or  he  found  other  ways  of  getting  a 
living  more  congenial,  for  the  next  school  in  this  neighborhood  was  taught  by 
Henry  Fletcher,  the  following  summer. 

In  the  Butler's  Point  neighborhood  the  schools  were  not  so  prosperous.  The 
first  school  taught  was  by  Hiram  Tinckor.  It  was  south  of  the  well  known 
Thomas  Keeney  home.  Mr.  Tinckor  was  a  good  teacher  and  kept  his  pupils 

326 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  327 

busy  with  their  "Readin,'  'Ritin'  and  'Rithmetic."  He  had  fifteen  pupils  and 
those  among  them  who  lived  at  the  Salt  Works  had  to  walk  three  miles  to  this 
school,  and  it  was  the  only  school  for  them  to  attend.  A  school  house  was  built 
in  1827  in  Georgetown  on  the  square  in  front  of  the  store  of  Mr.  Frazier.  This 
school  house  would  hardly  be  considered  of  much  use  for  that  purpose  at  this 
time.  Indeed  it  was  the  cheapest  affair  that  could  be  built,  of  logs  and  had 
absolutely  no  conveniences. 

A  puncheon  floor,  a  log  sawed  out  over  which  a  piece  of  greased  paper  was 
put,  through  which  the  light  had  a  hard  time  to  come,  slabs  for  seats  and  no 
desks.  It  does  not  make  a  very  attractive  picture.  But  it  was  the  best  that  could 
be  had  and  served  the  purpose  of  housing  the  boys  and  girls  whose  parents  were 
able  to  pay  the  subscription  price  of  their  "schooling."  The  teacher's  name  was 
Givens  and  after  him  it  was  Owen  West  who  gave  these  children  the  desired  in- 
struction in  the  three  "Rs."  The  pupils  were  Perry,  Martha  and  Luzena  Brazel- 
ton,  Brackin  Lewis,  George  Lewis,  Millican  Moore,  Eli  and  Mahlon  Haworth 
and  James  Staunton. 

The  books  used  were  the  Old  English  reader,  Talbott's  Arithmetic,  American 
Spelling  book  and  Lindley  Murry's  grammar.  At  that  time  it  was  the  universal 
practice  to  study  aloud  and  the  noise  which  issued  from  that  school  house  was 
something  from  which  to  escape  if  possible.  The  lad  who  could  make  the  most 
noise  was  supposed  to  be  gaining  the  greatest  amount  of  "learning."  This  school 
was  continued  until  1844  when  the  Georgetown  Seminary  was  established. 

The  first  school  house  in  Newell  township  was  on  section  23,  and  was  built  in 
1827.  A  man  named  Scott  was  the  first  teacher  who  has  been  described  as  a 
fatherly,  elderly  man  with  perhaps,  too  little  force,  since  his  successor  with  or 
without  reason  resorted  to  the  use  of  the  hickory  stick  upon  every  occasion. 
This  man's  name  was  Duncan  Lindsey.  He  taught  a  good  school  and  his  pupils 
made  remarkable  progress,  but  his  methods  were  approaching  brutality.  How 
much  of  this  came  because  of  the  laxity  of  the  first  teacher  can  not  be  estimated 
at  this  day,  or  whether  in  fact  the  kindness  of  the  first  teacher  did  not  seem  to 
be  laxity  in  contrast  to  the  ways  of  his  successor.  The  second  school  built  in 
Newell  township  was  put  upon  land  owned  by  and  called  for  Jacob  Eckler.  This 
school  house  was  located  between  Joseph  W.  Osborn's  and  William  R.  Campbell's. 
A  large  walnut  tree  stood  in  the  corner  of  Mr.  Osborn's  pasture  and  for  years 
marked  the  site  of  the  front  of  this  school  house.  It  was  built  in  the  fall  of  1830 
and  Valentine  Leonard  coming  to  this  neighborhood  at  about  that  time,  lived 
in  the  house  until  the  following  summer,  when  the  first  school  was  opened  there 
by  Miss  Elizabeth  Stipp  as  teacher. 

The  pioneer  school  house  is  at  once  one  of  the  simplest  and  most  celebrated 
institutions  in  the  early  settlements  of  the  country.  It  was  made  of  round  logs, 
puncheons  covered  the  floor,  a  rude  fireplace  at  one  end  reached  nearly  from  one 
corner  to  the  opposite  one;  in  the  other  end  of  the  room  an  opening  had  been 
made  by  leaving  out  a  log,  and  in  this,  upright  pieces  were  placed  at  intervals 
and  on  these  oiled  paper  was  pasted  to  admit  the  light.  Under  this  improvised 
window  a  long  board  was  put  up  with  the  proper  pitch  and  along  it  a  long  bench 
was  put.  Here  in  this  "flood  of  light,"  the  children  practiced  their  copies  using 
a  quill  pen  which  the  teacher  made.  One  dear  little  girl,  alas  no  longer  here  to 


328  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

tell  the  tale  herself,  loved  to  tell  how  she  would  get  up  early  often  and  look  for  the 
quills  the  geese  had  cast  in  the  night  to  take  them  to  Mr.  Huntington,  a  favorite 
teacher.  And  woe  to  her  when  her  brothers  happened  to  get  up  earlier  than  she 
did  and  gathered  all  the  prizes  from  her,  leaving  not  a  single  one.  This  was  long 
before  there  was  a  system  of  free  schools  in  Vermilion  county  and  education  had 
to  be  the  product  of  greater  effort  than  at  this  time.  Schools  were  inaugurated  by 
direct  exertion  and  supported  by  private  contribution  and  only  those  who  paid 
received  their  benefits.  School  houses  were  built  in  this  same  way.  The  settlers 
agreed  upon  a  place  and  then  they  all  met  at  that  place  and  divided  work ;  some 
cut  down  the  logs,  others  hauled  them  up  and  yet  a  third  set  them  up  in  place. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  have  a  school  house  to  have  a  school,  however.  Where 
an  empty  cabin  was  available  a  subscription  was  the  only  thing  necessary  to  the 
establishing  of  one  of  these  temples  of  learning.  Whoever  proposed  to  have 
a  school,  went  around  among  the  settlers  and  took  subscriptions  from  all  for  as 
many  as  were  wanted  to  go  to  school.  If  it  was  a  stranger  who  proposed  to  do 
this  one  of  the  well  known  citizens  would  offer  to  take  him  around  and  introduce 
him  to  those  who  would  be  interested  in  the  matter.  The  usual  price  was  $1.00 
and  $1.50  per  term  of  three  months  and  sometimes  the  winter  term  came  higher, 
a  charge  of  twenty-five  cents  extra  was  made  to  provide  fuel.  Sometimes  a  man 
who  was  very  much  interested  in  the  school  would  subscribe  for  three  or  more 
than  he  had  to  send ;  and  sometimes  a  man  had  two  or  more  children  to  send  and 
he  couldn't  afford  to  send  them  all,  then  he  would  send  them  alternately;  that 
is,  would  take  one  subscription  and  one  child  would  go  one  week  and  another  the 
following  week.  Reading,  writing,  spelling  and  ciphering  generally  comprised 
the  text.  On  the  interior  of  one  of  these  houses  there  would  always  be  wooden 
pegs  driven  upon  which  the  boys  hung  their  caps  and  the  girls  hung  their  hoods 
and  shawls.  Elisha  Hobbs  took  the  school  down  at  Vermilion  in  1831.  He  was 
one  of  the  true  teachers  who  could  give  a  stimulus  to  learning  that  made  the 
pupil  want  to  go  to  school.  He  did  more  for  the  cause  of  education  in  Vermilion 
county  than  did  any  one  else  ever.  He  never  paused  in  his  efforts  until  the  citi- 
zens found  themselves  with  a  school  house  16  ft.  square  and  six  feet  and  a  half 
between  joists.  The  district  got  up  a  subscription  to  build  a  new  house,  but 
could  not  raise  money  enough  to  build  it.  At  this  juncture  William  Canaday, 
David  and  Elvin  Haworth  decided  to  make  an  effort  to  secure  the  amount.  They 
got  hold  of  the  subscription  paper  and  destroyed  it  and  went  to  work  with  a  will 
and  their  purses  and  their  influence  to  build  a  house  fit  for  an  academy.  So  well 
did  they  succeed  that  in  the  summer  of  1850  they  had  a  seminary  building, 
30  x  52,  with  two  recitation  rooms  supplied  with  proper  desks  and  furniture. 
They  employed  Jatnes  Davis  as  principal  of  the  school  and  it  opened  with  one 
hundred  and  ten  students.  The  branches  taught  were  geography,  algebra,  chem- 
istry, geometry,  surveying,  history,  mineralogy,  reading,  spelling,  elocution,  do- 
mestic economy  and  Latin.  Mr.  Davis  continued  as  principal  for  five  years.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  energy,  wisdom  and  tact.  The  standard  of  education  was 
kept  high  and  this  seminary  did  a  great  work,  leaving  on  the  community  the  in- 
fluence which  marked  that  part  of  Vermilion  County.  Of  the  men  who  did  so 
much  to  build  this  school  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  William  Canaday  had 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  329 

seven  sons  who  were  educated  in  this  school  and  David  Havvorth  had  eight.  This 
seminary  disappeared  with  the  coming  of  the  free  or  public  school  system. 

The  first  school  ever  taught  in  Danville  was  in  a  log  house  probably  built 
for  the  purpose,  standing  on  the  ground  where  Wright's  mill  stands.  This  cabin 
was  built  of  huge  burr-oaks  fully  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  ends  were  left 
sticking  out  without  being  sawed  off,  with  clapboard  roof  and  puncheon  floor. 
It  was  rough  in  outward  appearance,  and  inside  had  nothing  to  change  that  ap- 
pearance. The  hugh  fireplace  extended  across  the  room  and  was  something 
peculiar  in  its  way;  without,  instead  of  the  chimney  beginning  at  the  ground, 
strong  braces  extended  from  the  wall  near  the  floor  out  into  the  room  and  up- 
ward, and  upon  these  the  chimney  was  built. 

It  was  not  less  than  six  feet  wide  and  large  enough  to  hoist  a  good  sized  dry- 
goods  box  up  through  it.  The  fire  was  built  under  it  and  the  first  thing  to  learn 
in  this  school  house  was  how  to  induce  the  smoke  to  go  in  the  right  direction. 
One  advantage  of  the  fireplace  was  that  the  wood  did  not  need  to  be  cut  at  all. 
Anything  short  of  sled-lengths  could  be  put  in  and  the  fire  did  the  work  of  the 
wood  chopper. 

This  school  was  opened  in  about  1830  and  the  teacher's  name  was  Clark.  He 
was  a  good  teacher,  and  had  charge  of  this  school  for  a  time,  after  which  he  was 
a  tanner  until  he  died.  Another  school  building  was  put  up  near  the  river  where 
the  old  planing  mill  stood  and  many  of  the  elder  sons  and  daughters  of  Danville 
went  to  this  school;  yet  little  record  of  this  school  can  be  found. 

The  Georgetown  Seminary  which  together  with  the  Vermilion  Seminary  fur- 
nished the  school  facilities  for  the  children  of  the  county  for  years,  was  built  in 
1844. 

In  1836  a  charter  was  granted  incorporating  the  Danville  Academy  a  stock 
company.  Its  terms  make  it  possible  for  every  free  white  person  to  subscribe 
to  this  school,  and  every  subscriber  was  entitled  to  one  year's  tuition  for  every 
share  owned.  This  enterprise  never  amounted  to  any  good,  however.  No  per- 
manent organization  was  ever  effected. 

While  Vermilion  was  working  for  a  seminary,  which  came  in  1850,  and  Dan- 
ville had  secured  a  charter  for  the  means  of  establishing  one  but  had  done 
nothing  else,  Georgetown  opened  a  school  wherein  the  needs  of  the  times  were 
met.  The  Georgetown  Seminary  was  organized  in  1844  and  for  twenty  years 
was  the  place  sought  by  those  of  the  entire  county  who  were  looking  for  means 
toward  an  education.  This  was  a  denominational  institution,  being  under  the 
charge  of  the  Methodist  Conference,  and  the  teachers  were  selected  by  that  body. 

Here  as  in  Vermilion  is  found  the  name  of  Canaday  as  one  of  the  promoters 
of  this  institution.  This  name  is  often  found  in  records  of  that  which  tended  to 
advance  the  interests  of  Vermilion  County.  Mr.  Canaday,  Presiding  Elder  Rob- 
bins,  J.  H.  Murphy  of  Danville,  and  Mr.  Curtis  were  the  early  promoters  of  the 
Georgetown  Seminary.  Much  depends  upon  the  selection  of  the  first  teachers 
of  any  institutions  of  learning,  and  a  happy  choice  was  made  in  this  case  in  the 
choosing  of  the  first  principal.  This  was  Jesse  Moore,  a  young  man  of  not  only 
excellent  education  but  of  commanding  presence  as  well,  and  possessed  of  superior 
tact.  Jesse  R.  Moore  was  at  that  time  a  local  preacher  and  since  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  Methodist  church,  afterward  a  presiding  elder.  When  the  war 


330  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

broke  out  he  went  into  the  service  and  was  promoted  to  be  a  general  in  the  army 
and  after  he  came  home  represented  his  district  in  the  national  congress,  after 
which  he  was  pension  agent  at  Decatur.  His  was  a  long  life  of  usefulness  and 
in  no  place  did  he  render  more  efficient  service  to  mankind  than  while  he  for 
four  years  was  the  principal  of  Georgetown  Seminary.  During  these  four  years 
the  school  was  operated  in  the  frame  building  some  of  the  older  people  of  the 
county  remember  which  had  been  built  for  a  church  and  had  been  moved  to  the 
grounds  afterward  occupied  by  the  district  school.  Mr.  Moore's  assistants  were 
Miss  Fairbanks,  Walter  Smith,  afterward  a  Baptist  preacher  and  Archibald 
Sloan,  who,  too,  afterward  became  a  preacher.  The  Seminary  building  was 
erected  in  1848.  It  was  a  plain  brick  building,  two  stories  high  and  capable  of 
accommodating  two  hundred  pupils.  Mr.  Moore  was  succeeded  by  Prof.  J.  P. 
Johnson,  who  had  charge  for  five  years,  with  his  wife  and  two  nieces  as  as- 
sistants. Pupils  came  from  a  hundred  miles  away  to  this  school.  Danville  sent 
her  young  people  and  the  northern  and  western  part  of  the  county  as  far  as  hav- 
ing need  of  a  school  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  given  by  an  institution 
of  the  kind  inside  the  bounds  of  the  county. 

Miss  Sophia  Lyons,  afterward  Mrs.  Holloway,  taught  music.  Prof.  Asa  Guy 
taught  two  years,  from  1853  to  1855.  He  had  his  wife  and  Miss  Hazelton  as 
his  assistants.  Rev.  Railsback  was  principal  for  four  years  and  he  was  followed 
by  Rev.  McNutt.  After  his  term  was  over  the  seminary  was  merged  into  the 
public  school  system.  The  seminary  was  built  by  individual  donation  of  money 
or  anything  which  could  be  turned  into  money  and  proved  to  be  a  power  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  community  first  and  the  adjacent  territory  of  the  county,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  increased  power  of  the  church.  The  school  was  turned  over  to 
the  district  in  1861  and  the  public  school  directors  of  the  district  took  entire 
charge  of  its  management  from  that  time  on.  There  had  been  a  sort  of  partner- 
ship between  the  directors  and  the  trustees  of  the  seminary  for  a  few  years  past, 
but  the  sentiment  favoring  the  public  school  had  grown  to  the  extent  that  it 
could  not  be  sustained  longer. 

Six  years  after  the  Georgetown  Seminary  was  established  and  at  the  time  of 
the  organization  of  the  Vermilion  Seminary,  a  charter  was  secured  to  incorporate 
the  Danville  Seminary.  There  was  already  one  flourishing  Methodist  school  in 
the  county  and  one  under  the  charge  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  There  did  not 
seem  to  be  any  need  of  another  under  either  denominational  government.  But 
those  who  had  the  papers  of  incorporation  made  out,  were  particular  to  stipulate 
that  the  majority  of  the  trustees  should  be  members  of  the  Methodist  church  and 
that  the  teachers  should  be  chosen  by  these  trustees.  That  left  all  but  the  Meth- 
odists outside  of  the  management  of  the  school,  either  in  the  way  of  determining 
the  course  of  study  or  whom  should  teach  the  course.  Naturally  this  arrange- 
ment, no  matter  how  well  it  was  used,  could  not  be  satisfactory.  An  antagonism 
was  the  only  outcome  of  such  an  ignoring  of  the  opinions  of  one  set  of  people 
by  another  who  had  only  the  right  made  by  circumstances.  Citizens  of  all  de- 
nominations had  subscribed  to  the  enterprise  and  this  restriction  of  their  privi- 
leges resulted  in  a  bitter  division  of  the  community  on  the  subject  of  all  others 
upon  which  there  should  be  perfect  union  of  opinion  and  action.  The  first  trus- 
tees of  this  institution  were  Eli  Helmick,  Benjamin  Stewert,  E.  F.  Palmer.  Daniel 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  331 

Fairchild,  James  Partlow,  James  Dennison  and  J.  H.  Gilbert.  They  located  the 
school  on  two  acres  of  land  just  north  of  Main  street  and  built  a  two-story  brick 
house  for  the  use  of  the  school.  The  land  was  deeded  to  the  use  of  the  church 
for  school  purposes  and  after  the  seminary  was  merged  into  the  public  school  sys- 
tem there  was  a  long  litigation  over  the  ownership  of  the  land,  because  of  this 
clause.  At  last  it  went  back  to  the  original  owners.  O.  S.  Munsell  was  the  first 
principal  of  this  school  and  Mrs.  Munsell,  C.  W.  Jerome,  Miss  Sarah  Whip  and 
Miss  Ellen  Green  were  the  teachers.  This  was  in  1852,  when  the  roll  of  mem- 
bership was  206.  This  school  had  the  advantage  of  having  been  in  existence 
before  it  was  incorporated  under  the  management  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Munsell. 
They  were  popular  teachers  in  their  school,  kept  in  the  old  North  Street  church. 
Two  courses  were  offered  to  the  student,  the  classical  and  the  scientific.  This 
school  was  continued  for  twelve  years.  Mr.  Munsell  was  succeeded  by  Prof. 
Aaron  Wood,  he  by  Prof.  P.  D.  Hammond,  he  by  Mr.  McNutt  and  he  by  J.  L. 
Dickson  as  principals  of  the  school. 

The  dissatisfaction  with  the  management  of  the  Danville  Seminary  grew  to 
such  an  extent  that  another  school  was  organized  March  15,  1851.  This  was 
called  the  Union  Seminary  and  while  the  subscribers  were  not  of  the  same  church 
as  that  which  dominated  the  other  school,  they  were  restricted  to  no  one  denomi- 
nation. It  was  established  by  a  joint  stock  company  and  was  an  excellent  school. 
These  opposing  schools  were  supported  until  the  popularity  of  the  public  school 
system  made  it  no  longer  a  necessity  to  have  the  youth  of  Danville  educated  at 
subscription  schools. 

The  trustees  of  the  Union  Seminary  were  representative  citizens  of  Dan- 
ville. They  were  L.  T.  Palmer,  J.  A.  D.  Sconce,  S.  G.  Craig,  Guy  Merrill  and 
Hamilton  White.  They  secured  three  acres  of  land  in  the  part  of  town  then 
called  the  north  part,  but  what  would  seem  almost  the  heart  of  the  city  at  this 
time,  and  put  up  a  good  building  which  they  used  as  a  school  house  for  a  long 
time  after  the  seminary  was  a  part  of  the  public  school.  The  only  relic  of  the 
location  is  now  the  name  of  the  street  which  ran  in  front  of  the  enclosure,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  building.  Vermilion  street  was  the  western  limit  of  the 
seminary  grounds.  In  1862  a  common  school  system  was  adopted  and  it  was 
very  soon  that  the  usefulness  of  these  two  private  schools  was  at  an  end.  A 
levy  of  a  tax  which  was  to  be  paid  to  all  school  districts  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  pupils  who  attended  the  public  school  was  a  just  cause  to  induce 
every  public  spirited  man  to  support  the  public  school  with  the  attendance  of  his 
children.  The  outcome  of  this  was  that  both  buildings  were  rented  by  the  di- 
rectors of  the  public  school  and  J.  L.  Dickson,  who  was  principal  of  the  Dan- 
ville Seminary,  was  retained  as  principal  of  the  public  schools  with  nine  assist- 
ants. The  following  year  Mr.  Spillman  was  employed.  Thus  it  was  that  the 
seminaries  at  both  Georgetown  and  Danville  gave  place  to  the  public  schools. 

Such  was  not  the  case  at  the  one  under  the  management  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  at  Vermilion.  When  the  Vermilion  Seminary  was  established  it  was 
built  as  a  permanent  institution  and  remained  an  institution  all  the  years  from 
its  organization  to  the  time  when,  in  1873,  the  Vermilion  Academy  was  or- 
ganized to  take  its  place.  And  unlike  the  other  three  institutions  of  higher  learn- 


332  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

ing  in  the  county,  it  competed  successfully  with  the  high  schools  when  they 
became  competitors. 

While  the  more  pretentious  schools  are  being  considered  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  there  were  schools  in  other  parts  of  the  county  where  although 
the  extent  of  the  attempt  was  the  mastery  of  the  "Three  Rs"  yet  they  laid  the 
foundation  of  learning  without  which  the  after  building  would  be  impossible. 
The  first  school  building  in  Oakwood  township  was  put  up  in  1829  or  1830.  It 
stood  close  to  the  present  town  of  Newtown,  and  was  of  the  pioneer  style. 

Squire  Newell  and  a  Mr.  McGuinn  taught  in  this  house  soon  after  it  was 
built.  It  continued  in  use  for  some  time  but  another  was  built  on  what  was 
known  as  "Parsonage  Hill"  just  south  of  Newtown.  Another  of  the  early  school 
houses  was  built  on  the  state  road  near  Stony  creek. 

School  was  taught  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Juvinalls  at  an  early  day  by 
Morgan  Rees.  This  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek  but  the  children  would 
attend  school  there  and  so  it  was  not  considered  necessary  to  have  one  on  the 
west  side.  The  first  house  built  in  Pilot  township  was  put  up  on  section  20, 
T20,  R.I2.  This  was  in  1836  or  1837. 

Ezekial  Leyton  was  the  first  school  teacher.  However,  there  had  been  a 
school  taught  in  this  township  in  about  1834.  This  was  housed  in  a  cabin  and 
was  taught  by  Mr.  Beard.  As  early  as  1833  there  was  a  school  house  on  the 
banks  of  the  North  Fork  about  eighty  rods  south  of  Denmark.  Mary  Beasley, 
Noah  Sap  and  Elizabeth  Stipp,  were  among  the  early  teachers  in  this  building. 
After  a  few  years  the  building  was  abandoned  and  a  private  house  in  Denmark 
used.  The  Lamb  school  house  was  built  in  1835  and  was  one  of  some  preten- 
sion, having  a  window  on  each  side,  consisting  of  a  single  row  of  8xio  inch 
panes  placed  close  up  to  the  eaves,  and  running  the  whole  length  of  the 
building.  Among  the  teachers  at  this  school  house  are  found  these  names  which 
may  recall  early  times  to  some  one.  There  was  Robert  Price,  John  McKee, 
J.  Poor  and  James  A.  Davis.  It  is  not  recorded  which  teacher  of  all  these  it 
was  who  punished  a  bad  boy  and  in  turn  was  severely  punished  together  with 
his  entire  school.  The  circumstance  was  as  follows.  The  boy  was  punished 
by  the  teacher  and  went  out  of  the  door  which  fastened  on  the  outside  with  a 
padlock.  Taking  advantage  of  this  fastening  the  boy  made  a  prisoner  of  each 
and  all  in  the  school  house  and  then  climbed  on  the  roof  and  covered  up  the 
chimney.  While  he  sat  on  the  outside  awaiting  developments  the  smoke  poured 
into  the  room  and  was  very  annoying  until  the  teacher  thought  to  put  out  the 
fire  with  water  and  then  a  boy  crawled  up  the  flue  and  uncovered  the  chimney 
and  unfastened  the  door. 

The  Cunningham  school  house  was  built  in  1840  and  Levi  Cronkhite  was  the 
first  teacher  of  the  school. 

To  return  to  the  schools  of  Danville  it  is  found  that  the  first  one  was  taught 
in  Haworth's  smokehouse,  a  little  building  ten  or  twelve  feet  square.  It  was 
made  of  logs  without  a  floor  and  its  only  openings  were  the  door  and  a  square 
hole  cut  at  the  opposite  side  for  light  and  ventilation.  It  stood  west  of  Haworth 
house  and  back  some  distance  north  from  the  line  of  the  sidewalk. 

Dr.  Norton  Beckwith,  the  brother  of  Dan  Beckwith  was  the  teacher.  After 
this  there  was  a  school  house  built  upon  a  lot  on  south  Hazel  street  on  the  west 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  333 

side  of  the  street  not  far  below  where  the  jail  is  located.  This  lot  was  set 
apart  by  the  county  commissioners  for  school  purposes. 

This  building  was  made  of  small  logs  covered  with  clapboards,  with  the 
chimney  on  the  outside  made  of  stone  and  sticks  mudded  after  the  fashion  of 
the  Kentucky  cabin.  At  first  it  had  no  floor  but  later  the  floor  was  made  of 
puncheons.  The  seats  were  made  of  the  same  material,  smooth  side  up,  sup- 
ported on  wooden  legs.  Among  the  teachers  who  taught  here  at  different  times 
were  Harvey  Luddington  and  Enoch  Kingsbury.  Mr.  Luddington  also  taught 
a  Sunday  school  here.  At  a  later  day  James  A.  Davis  came  to  Danville  without 
a  cent  of  money,  having  lost  everything  while  coming  up  the  Wabash  in  a 
boat.  Dr.  Beckwith  found  that  Mr.  Davis  had  a  fine  education  and  said  he 
was  the  very  man  Danville  needed  to  teach  school.  He  at  once  wrote  a  paper 
and  circulated  it  that  he  might  secure  a  school.  Such  good  satisfaction  did  Mr. 
Davis  give  that  he  taught  school  for  a  long  time  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 
From  Vermilion  street  a  little  south  of  the  square  there  was  a  trail  led  off 
southeast  across  lots  to  the  school  house.  This  trail  went  through  a  thicket  of 
hazel  bush  and  it  was  so  high  that  the  teachers  and  pupils  were  obliged  to  part 
it  with  their  hands  to  go  to  school. 

The  first  school  house  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Henry  Hunt  had  col- 
lected some  two  hundred  venison  hams  and  stored  them  in  Haworth's  smoke- 
house, where  he  was  smoking  and  drying  them  to  ship  them  to  New  Orleans 
by  flat  boat.  For  a  joke  (a  sorry  joke  it  appears)  some  of  the  men  attracted 
the  attention  of  Mr.  Hunt,  while  others  fired  the  building.  The  market  was 
glutted  with  venison  partially  cooked,  since  the  fire  was  not  discovered  until 
too  late  to  save  the  meat. 

This  school  house  was  not  up  to  the  needs  of  the  times,  or  at  least  so  thought 
Amos  Williams,  the  man  who  did  so  much  for  Danville,  and  he  built  another 
at  his  own  expense.  He  put  up  the  building  on  the  west  side  of  Franklin  street 
a  little  north  of  the  alley.  This  building  was  fully  twenty  feet  square,  some 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high  in  the  clear  and  made  of  logs  hewn  inside  and 
out.  It  had  a  door  and  two  windows  fronting  east  and  was  further  lighted  with 
a  row  of  three  or  four  8xio  window  lights  in  width,  and  extending  nearly  the 
length  of  the  three  other  sides.  The  floor  was  made  of  sawed  plank,  matched 
and  evenly  laid.  In  winter  time  a  stove  occupied  the  center  of  the  room.  A 
double  row  of  seats  (one  of  which  was  in  front  low  down,  next  to  the  floor, 
and  the  other  raised  up  like  a  gallery,  some  three  feet  back  of  and  above  the 
first,  with  the  wall  behind  and  sloping  desks  in  front),  extended  around  three 
sides  of  the  room,  with  openings  cut  near  the  middle  of  each  row,  and  provided 
with  steps,  so  the  pupils  could  ascend  to  the  higher  platform.  Here  the  three 
months'  school  was  held  for  many  years.  The  school  teacher  was  generally  a 
stranger,  who  would  go  from  place  to  place  looking  for  a  school.  His  education 
varied  with  circumstances,  and  at  times  he  would  be  well  prepared  for  the  work 
he  sought  while  at  others  he  was  but  a  bully  or  a  brute. 

The  first  school  taught  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Danville  township  was 
at  what  was  sometimes  called  Payne's  Point.  Mrs.  Cromwell  was  a  dearly  loved 
teacher  in  the  years  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  public  schools  and  after  the 
new  building  on  the  corner  of  Madison  and  Pine  streets  was  first  opened  she 


334  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

was  the  first  teacher  for  the  children  as  long  as  she  was  able  to  be  in  the  school 
room.  The  men  and  women  of  Danville  can  not  forget  until  at  least  another 
generation  the  kind  and  efficient  teacher  who  was  very  nearly  a  mother  in 
her  care  and  solicitude. 

That  which  predominated  in  the  development  of  the  educational  system  in 
Vermilion  County  from  the  year  1880  to  1900  was  proportion,  uniformity  and 
thoroughness  in  the  common  school  course  of  study ;  namely,  that  composed  of 
the  common  branches.  From  1900  to  the  present,  the  emphasis  has  been  gain- 
ing toward  the  higher  development  of  the  secondary  or  high  school  course  of 
study.  In  the  county  administration  of  schools,  J.  D.  Benedict  became  superin- 
tendent in  1881  to  succeed  C.  V.  Guy.  Mr.  Benedict  came  into  office  about  the 
time  that  additional  powers  and  duties  were  granted  to  the  county  superinten- 
dent. Previous  to  this  time  the  office  had  been  largely  that  of  custodian  and 
trustee  of  school  funds  and  school  lands,  together  with  the  duty  of  examining 
of  applicants  for  license  to  teach.  With  the  new  powers  given  under  state  law, 
the  county  superintendent  was  given  more  school  supervision.  Mr.  Benedict 
was  one  of  the  foremost  superintendents  of  the  state  to  exercise  the  new  powers 
vested  in  the  office  and  established  in  Vermilion  County  a  system  of  monthly 
examinations  of  pupils  in  all  the  village  and  rural  schools.  To  make  this  work 
more  effective,  it  was  necessary  to  evolve  a  prescribed  course  of  study  to  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers  after  those  teachers  were  duly  instructed  in 
its  use.  The  operation  of  this  course  of  study  under  a  sensible  line  of  examina- 
tions, has  been  well  carried  out  through  Mr.  Benedict's  term  of  office  which 
closed  1889,  succeeded  by  L.  H.  Griffith  whose  term  of  office  which  closed  1889, 
succeeded  by  L.  H.  Griffith  whose  term  of  office  extended  from  1889  to  1899; 
this  followed  by  R.  B.  Holmes  from  1899  to  1906;  followed  by  W.  Y.  Ludwig, 
1906  to  1910.  Haworth  is  the  present  superintendent  of  schools. 

The  rural  schools  in  general,  do  most  excellent  work  in  the  common  school 
branches  corresponding  to  the  graded  schools  of  the  vilages  and  cities.  Pupils, 
after  completing  the  common  branches  in  the  rural  and  small  village  schools,  are 
usually  transferred  to  the  accredited  high  schools,  the  number  of  which  has 
rapidly  increased  within  the  past  decade.  It  now  seems  to  be  within  the  reach 
of  every  child  within  the  limits  of  Vermilion  County  to  acquire  a  good  common 
school  education,  and  added  to  that  the  completion  of  a  four  years  high  school, 
which  fits  him  for  entrance  to  the  best  universities,  technical  of  professional 
schools  of  the  land.  In  the  high  school  development  of  the  county,  two  high 
schools,  Danville  and  Hoopeston,  are  accredited  in  the  "Northcentral  Association 
of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools."  The  following  high  schools  are  on  the 
accredited  list  of  the  University  of  Illinois;  Danville,  Georgetown,  Hoopeston, 
Rossville,  Vermilion  Academy,  Ridge  Farm  and  Sidell. 

The  high  school  of  Danville  was  not  legally  incorporated  into  the  system  of 
schools  until  1887  when  a  vote  of  the  people  made  it  a  part  of  the  city  schools. 
Nothwithstanding  this  there  has  been  graduated  several  classes.  The  first  class 
to  graduate  from  the  Danville  high  school  was  in  1872. 

The  total  enrollment  of  pupils  of  Danville  for  all  grades  during  the  past  year 
expenditures  for  past  year  were  $128.026.67.  .  This  sum  includes  disbursements 
for  all  purposes.  Expenses  per  capita  for  teachers,  janitors,  and  fuel  were: 


I 

H 


O 


8 

o 


K 
O 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  335 

In  high  school,  $33.30.     In  grades  below  high  school,  $17.77,  making  $19.90  an 
average  for  all  pupils. 

The  Danville  high  school  had  a  total  enrollment  of  476.  The  number  grad- 
uating from  the  Danville  high  school  during  each  of  the  past  four  decades  were 
as  follows: 

1871  to  1880  55 

1881  to  1890    80 

1891  to  1900    212 

1901  to  1910    409 

The  private  schools  of  Vermilion  County  do  not  make  an  extensive  list.  The 
Vermilion  Grove  Seminary  has  already  been  mentioned,  together  with  the 
Georgetown  Seminary,  the  Danville  Seminary,  and  the  Union  Seminary;  all  of 
these,  with  the  exception  of  the  one  first  mentioned,  found  their  time  of  use- 
fulness cease  when  the  public  schools  were  established.  The  first  private  school 
to  be  opened  after  that  was  the  one  known  as  the  Chilcoat  school,  or  by  the 
name  given  it  by  the  proprietors,  the  Danville  Normal  and  Academic  Institute. 
This  school  was  established  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventies,  and  was  a 
popular  school  for  several  years.  It  was  conducted  by  the  two  brothers  Chil- 
coat. Music  was  a  well  conducted  department  in  the  school  under  the  man- 
agement of  Prof.  Vandersteen. 

The  German  Lutheran  private  school  has  been  an  established  institution  since 
the  sixties.  The  school  is  supported  by  the  congregation  of  that  church.  The 
congregation  appoints  the  teachers,  and  is  in  every  way  responsible  for  the 
school. 

The  German  Catholic  school  was  established  nearly  as  early,  but  was  never 
very  regularly  kept  up. 

The  Parochial  schools  became  an  institution  of  the  Catholic  church  in  the 
eighties.  This  institution  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  A  large  and  commo- 
dious building  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Park  streets,  where  a  day 
school  to  accommodate  the  children  of  Danville  is  supplemented  by  a  boarding 
school  well  patronized  and  known  as  the  Sisters  Academy. 

The  other  private  schools  where  higher  education  can  be  obtained  are  Greer 
College  and  the  Brown  Business  School. 

GREER  COLLEGE. 

Greer  College  was  founded  and  endowed  by  the  late  John  Greer  in  1891, 
who  gave  his  fortune  as  a  heritage  to  all  young  people  who  are  ambitious  to  rise 
in  the  world.  Like  most  men,  Mr.  Greer's  life  had  been  one  of  toil  and  trial. 
When  young,  his  opportunities  for  an  education  were  meager  enough,  and  this 
he  believed  caused  his  life  to  be  more  irksome  than  it  otherwise  might  have  been. 
Business  and  normal  colleges,  such  as  Greer  College,  were  unknown  when  he 
was  a  boy,  and  the  common  schools  were  then  poor  at  best.  He  desired  to 
make  conditions  better,  and  so  resolved  to  found  a  college  where  young  people 
of  any  age  would  be  received  and  educated  with  care  and  patience,  no  matter 
how  poor  their  early  means  for  schooling  had  been.  The  beautiful  buildings 


336  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  Greer  College  stand  today  as  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  a  true  philan- 
thropist and  lover  of  young  people. 

The  buildings  of  Greer  College  cost  nearly  $50,000  and  are  provided  with 
all  modern  conveniences.  Several  hundred  dollars  have  been  expended  during 
the  past  two  years  for  libraries,  laboratory  apparatus,  tables,  cases,  commercial 
offices  and  desks,  cabinets,  microscopes,  air  pumps,  electrical  machines  and  ap- 
pliances, good  water  supply  in  laboratory,  biological  and  geological  specimens, 
skeleton,  charts,  physiological  models  and  typewriters. 

The  college  buildings  occupy  a  commanding  site  in  the  western  part  of  the 
city.  The  campus  is  a  beautiful  sloping  lawn,  ornamented  with  trees  and  shrub- 
bery. The  grounds  are  high,  affording  perfect  drainage  and  a  pleasant  view  of 
the  city  and  surrounding  country. 

The  main  building  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  modern  architecture.  It  is 
built  of  St.  Louis  pressed  brick,  laid  in  black  mortar.  The  arched  entrances 
and  large  landscape  windows  are  set  in  cut  stone.  The  trimmings  are  of  rough 
stone,  terra  cotta  and  ornamental  iron.  The  auditorium,  halls,  etc.,  of  the 
building  have  recently  been  repapered  and  varnished  and  made  bright  and  cheer- 
ful, as  when  new.  It  is  heated  throughout  with  steam,  lighted  with  electricity 
and  gas,  and  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  pure  artesian  water. 

The  inner  appointments  of  this  building  are  all  that  could  be  desired — com- 
fortable, convenient  and  elegant.  The  college  auditorium  or  assembly  room 
has  a  seating  capacity  of  about  700  persons.  A  commodious  gallery  in  the  type 
of  an  amphitheatre  extends  around  three  sides.  The  lighting  and  ventilation  of 
the  rooms  is  perfect.  Here  are  held  the  daily  chapel  and  general  assembly. 

Greer  hall  is  a  fine  brick  structure  containing  comfortable  apartments  for 
gentlemen  students  and  teachers.  The  rooms  are  arranged  in  suites  and  the 
interior  finish  is  similar  to  that  of  the  main  building — natural  wood  oiled. 

The  president's  home  is  a  large  modern  home  fitted  with  electric  lights, 
steam  heat,  bath,  etc.,  where  young  women  will  have  elegant  rooms  with  all  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  a  home  life  while  attending  college. 

The  library  and  reading  room  is  a  commodious  apartment,  well  lighted, 
warmed  and  ventilated.  Among  the  reference  books  are  encyclopedias  of  his- 
tory and  literature,  atlases  and  the  standard  dictionaries.  There  are  valuable 
scientific  and  historical  works,  books  of  biography  and  travel,  standard  fiction, 
polite  literature,  poetry,  etc.  There  is  a  large  number  of  volumes  treating  di- 
rectly on  the  branches  of  daily  study.  The  leading  magazines  and  teachers' 
journals  and  the  local  and  Chicago  papers  are  kept  on  file. 

The  courses  of  study  have  been  revised  recently  and  consist  of  two-year 
courses  in  commercial  work,  stenography,  civil  service,  elocution  and  penman- 
ship; four-year  courses  in  preparatory,  normal  and  music,  and  four-year  col- 
lege courses  that  entitle  students  who  finish  them  to  the  usual  degrees  given  for 
the  various  courses,  such  as  Bachelor  of  Arts  (A.  B.),  Bachelor  of  Literature 
(B.  Lit.),  Bachelor  of  Science  (B.  S.),  etc.  Gfaduates  of  the  college  or  of 
other  colleges  may  become  candidates  for  the  master's  degree  after  having  re- 
ceived the  corresponding  bachelor's  degree,  or  upon  a  satisfactory  showing  of 
worthiness,  the  master's  degree  is  conferred. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  337 

The  school  is  non-sectarian,  but  a  thorough  Christian  spirit  is  maintained. 
Daily  devotional  exercises  are  conducted,  and  students  are  advised  to  attend 
at  least  once  on  Sunday  the  church  of  their  choice.  The  different  denomina- 
tions are  represented  on  the  faculty,  and  almost  every  denomination  sends  its 
students.  The  teachers  are  workers  in  the  respective  churches,  and  the  usual 
young  people's  societies  are  encouraged. 

Two  student  literary  organizations  are  maintained — the  Olympian  Literary 
Society  was  organized  by  the  young  men  and  has  steadily  gone  forward  in  its 
splendid  career,  and  many  prominent  young  men  of  this  state  and  others  can 
trace  their  success  in  public  life  to  the  training  received  while  members  of  the 
Olympian  Literary  Society. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Olympian  Society  is  also  true  of  the  Vesperian 
Literary  Society,  which  is  the  young  ladies'  literary  society  of  the  school. 

The  Y.  M.  &  Y.  W.  C.  A.  have  a  great  influence  upon  the  student  life  of 
the  school,  and  most  of  the  students  are  members  of  these. 

The  Alumni  Association  now  consists  of  439  members,  and  many  of  them 
are  occupying  important  positions  in  public  and  private  life  throughout  this 
country  and  also  in  some  foreign  countries. 

The  Brown  Business  College  has  a  good  location.  Mrs.  Morris  is  the  prin- 
cipal. Other  small  attempts  have  been  made  to  establish  private  schools,  but 
have  not  continued  long  in  profit.  The  private  school  of  Miss  Edith  Yeomans, 
established  about  1902,  continued  in  existence  until  the  principal  moved  west, 
when  it  was  continued  but  one  year.  Schools  for  young  children  have  been 
established  to  live  but  a  short  time  and  then  pass  out  of  sight. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
THE  DANVILLE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

DATE  OF  ORGANIZATION  -  OFFICERS  AND  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  -  THE  CULBERTSON 
LIBRARY  -  REV.  JAMES  W.  COE,  FIRST  LIBRARIAN  -  LOCATIONS  —  BUILDING  - 
CIRCULATION  —  CLASSIFIED  CONTENTS  IN 


The  Danville  public  library  has  been  in  existence  since  1882.  L.  T.  Dicason 
was  at  that  time  the  mayor  of  the  city  and  on  July  21,  1882,  called  a  public1 
meeting  of  the  citizens  to  organize  a  public  library  in  the  city. 

The  officers  chosen  at  that  meeting  were,  W.  C.  McReynolds,  president; 
J.  G.  English,  vice  president;  H.  A.  Coffeen,  secretary.  The  board  of  directors 
included  these  names  and,  as  well,  the  following:  Father  P.  J.  O'Rielly,  Dr. 
George  Wheeler  Jones,  John  C.  Black,  W.  R.  Jewell,  William  P.  Cannon  and 
Rev.  Chas.  H.  Little. 

This  was  not  the  first  attempt  to  furnish  free  reading  matter  to  Danville 
people,  for  the  Culbertson  library  had  been  in  circulation  for  some  years  although 
its  circulation  was  not  as  extensive  as  the  nature  of  the  collection  warranted. 
At  the  death  of  James  Culbertson,  a  merchant  of  Danville  and  a  man  who  was 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  growing  county,  his  will  was  found  to  contain 
a  bequest  of  his  library  and  a  trust  fund  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  pastor  and 
session  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  This  fund  was  to  be  used  in  the  purchase 
of  books,  to  be  carefully  selected  with  certain  restrictions  for  a  circulating 
library. 

After  the  Danville  public  library  was  organized  this  other  organization,  as 
provided  by  the  will  of  Mr.  Culbertson,  was  merged  into  the  new  one  and  the 
books  turned  over  for  distribution.  This  was  in  1883. 

The  rooms  selected  to  house  the  public  library  were  in  the  McDonald  build- 
ing on  west  Main  street,  adjoining  the  First  National  Bank  building.  In  1885, 
the  library  had  increased  and  needed  more  room,  so  that  it  was  moved  to  the 
block,  on  North  Vermilion  street,  occupying  the  entire  second  floor  over  Nos. 
132-134.  It  remained  in  this  location  for  sixteen  years. 

The  next  move  was  to  the  Fera  block,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  North  and 
Walnut  streets  in  the  rooms  now  occupied  by  the  Woman's  Club.  It  remained 
here  until  the  present  library  building  was  complete. 

338 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  339 

The  first  librarian  was  James  W.  Coe.  He  served  five  years  when  his  failing 
health  made  a  change  necessary.  He  was  a  scholarly  gentleman  of  the  old 
school  and  his  efforts  gave  the  library  an  impetus  which  determined  its  useful- 
ness. He  was  for  some  time  the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Holy  Trinity 
at  Danville,  prior  to  his  selection  as  librarian.  Mr.  Coe  was  an  eastern  man, 
coming  from  New  York  state  and,  with  his  wife  and  family  of  young  people 
made  a  great  addition  to  Danville's  social  life.  A  fine  portrait  of  Rev.  Coe  is 
on  the  walls  of  the  library  building  and  reminds  the  visitor  of  the  efficient  serv- 
ice he  rendered  his  much  loved  library. 

Miss  Aletha  Witte  was  the  next  librarian,  remaining  in  the  position  during 
the  years  between  1887  and  1890,  when  she  resigned  to  go  to  the  Pratt  library, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

She  was  followed  by  Miss  Josephine  E.  Durham,  who  has  since  filled  the 
place  most  acceptably.  She  is  well  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  the  library, 
and  in  close  touch  with  its  patrons,  and  ever  alert  for  everything  that  tends 
to  improve  it.  Since  1804  the  library  has  been  housed  in  its  permanent  home 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Vermilion  and  Madison  streets.  This  land  132x155 
feet,  was  bought  by  the  city  of  Danville  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  The  build- 
ing is  of  Bedford  stone  and  dark  paving  brick,  and  occupies  an  area  of 
loo  feet  by  65  feet.  It  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $40,000  and  was  the  gift  of  Andrew 
Carnegie,  of  New  York  city.  It  is  very  conveniently  arranged.  The  main 
floor  contains  two  reading  rooms,  each  30x40  feet,  one  for  adults  and  the  other 
for  children.  The  center  is  occupied  by  the  delivery  room  in  front,  and  the  stock 
room  just  back  of  it,  with  the  librarian's  desk,  so  located  as  to  command  a  view 
of  the  entire  interior.  On  this  floor  there  is  also  a  reference  room,  a  catalogue- 
ing  room,  and  an  office  for  the  librarian.  There  is  a  light  dry  basement  under 
the  whole  building,  entirely  finished,  in  which  are  kept  files  of  the  newspapers, 
congressional  documents  and  such  books  as  are  little  called  for.  The  building 
is  fire  proof  throughout.  The  bookstacks  are  of  steel.  The  building  is  heated 
with  city  steam  and  lighted  with  electricity. 

From  the  librarian's  report  for  the  year  ending  April  30,  1910,  it  appears 
that  the  total  of  bound  volumes  is  26,856,  of  unbound  volumes  is  300,  and  of 
periodicals,  84,086  volumes. 

The  appropriations  made  by  the  city  council  for  the  last  two  years  were, 
$8,000  each.  This  money  was  a  considerable  portion  at  least,  spent  for  buying 
new  books. 

A  special  effort  is  being  made  to  make  the  reference  department  full  and 
complete  for  the  benefit  of  pupils  of  the  public  schools  and  any  who  desire  to 
pursue  some  special  line  of  study. 

This  building  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  November  8,  1904.  The  hours 
when  the  library  is  open  are  from  9  A.  M.  to  9  P.  M.  during  the  week,  and  on 
Sundays  from  October  to  June  2  to  5  P.  M. 

The  following  report  of  the  circulation  during  the  past  year  gives  a  good 
idea  of  the  use  made  of  the  Danville  Public  library. . 


340  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Circulation  by  classes : — 

CLASSIFIED  CONTENTS  OF  THE   LIBRARY. 

Added  Total 

April  30,     During  April  30, 

1909.        Year  1910 

General    Works 451              74  525 

Bound  Magazines   1,303           101  1,404 

Philosophy    267             21  288 

Religion   644             51  695 

Sociology  705           136  841 

Philology   58             10  68 

Natural   Science    687           109  796 

Useful  arts   584           127  71 1 

Fine  arts  628            67  695 

Literature    1,672           280  1,952 

History    1,469           146  1,615 

Travel    1,056           168  1,224 

Biography    1,356           too  1,456 

Fiction   5,512           734  6,246 

Juvenile  Fiction  3,450           326  3,776 

19,746         2450  22,196 

No.  of  volumes  withdrawn  during  year  554 

21,642 

No.  of  volumes  of  government  documents 5.023 

No.  of  volumes  of  bound  newspapers  191 

26,856 

CIRCULATION    BY    CLASSES. 

Juvenile      Adult  Total 

Philosophy    15             236  251 

Religion    78             292  370 

Sociology  187             410  597 

Phisology  2               16  18 

Natural  science 368            471  839 

Useful  arts  141             501  642 

Fine  arts   254             509  763 

Literature    456          1,879  2-335 

History 504             689  1,193 

Biography    270             527  797 

Travel    435             681  1,116 

Fiction    24,861         47,405  72,226 

Total    27,571        53,616  81,187 

No.  of  volumes  circulated  at  the  Oaklawn  schools 2.899 

Total  circulation  for  the  year 84,086 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  34T 

REGISTRATION    OF    READERS. 

Cards  in  force  April  30,   1909    6,088 

New  cards  issued  during  the  year 1,112 

MAGAZINE    LIST. 

Ainslie's  Magazine,  American  Boy  (Juvenile),  Americal  Federationist,  Ameri- 
can Homes  and  Gardens,  American  Magazine,  American  Republic,  Annals  of 
Amer.  Academy  of  Pol.  and  Soc.  Science,  Atlantic  Monthly,  Birdlore,  Blazer, 
Bohemian,  Bon  Ton,  Bookman,  Carpenter  and  Building,  Cassiers,  Cavalier,  Cen- 
tury, Chautauquan,  Children's  Magazine,  Children's  Star,  Christian  Missionary, 
Christian  Science  Sentinel,  Collier's  Weekly,  Conservation,  Cosmopolitan, 
Country  Life  in  America,  Craftsman,  Current  Literature,  Delineator,  Deutsche 
Vorkampfer,  Good  Housekeeping,  Hampton's  Magazine,  Harper's  Bazaar,  Har- 
per's Monthly,  Harper's  Weekly,  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,  House  Beautiful, 
Illuminating  Engineer,  Independent,  Institute  Tie,  International  Studio,  Judge, 
Keith's  Home  Builder,  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  Life,  Lippincott,  Literary  Digest, 
Little  Folks,  Living  Age,  Locomotive  Engineering,  London  Illustrated  News,  Man- 
uel Training  Magazine,  McCall's  Magazine,  McClure's  Magazine,  Machinery, 
Master  in  Art,  Metropolitan,  Missionary  Review,  Missionary  Tidings,  Mother's 
Magazine,  Motor  Print,  Dial,  Dramatic  News,  Editor,  Educational  Review,  Etude, 
Everybody's  Magazine,  Forub,  Gartenlaube,  North  American  Review,  Official  Ga- 
zette of  U.  S.  Patent  Office,  Olde  Ulster,  Outing,  Outlook,  Pacific  Monthly,  Pall 
Mall,  Pearson's  Magazine,  Photo  Era,  Popular  Electricity,  Popular  Mechanics, 
Popular  Science  Monthly,  Puck,  Recreation,  Red  Book,  Review  of  Reviews,  St. 
Nicholas,  Saturday  Evening  Post,  Scientific  American  and  Supplement,  Munsey, 
Musical  America,  Musical  Courier,  Mystic  Worker,  National,  National  Geog. 
Magazine,  Nature  Study  Review,  Nineteenth  Century,  Scrap  Book,  Scribner's 
Magazine,  Story  Hour,  Strand,  Suburban  Life,  Success,  Sunday  School  Times, 
Survey,  System,  Technical  World,  Toilettes,  Uncle  Remus'  Home  Magazine, 
Van  Norden  Magazine,  Woman's  Home  Companion,  Wide  World,  Western  Em- 
pire, Westermann's  Monatschafte,  World  Today,  World's  Work,  Youth's  Com- 
panion. 

NEWSPAPER    LIST. 

Banner,  Christian  Science  Monitor,  Danville  Commercial-News,  Danville 
Press-Democrat,  Chicago  Tribune,  Chicago  Record-Herald,  German  Zeitung, 
German  Herald. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
CHURCHES  AND  MINISTERS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

THE     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH THE     CUMBERLAND     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH THE 

UNITED     PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH THE      METHODIST      CHURCH THE      BAPTIST 

CHURCH THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST THE  CHRISTIAN   CHURCH THE  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH THE   UNITED    BRETHREN    CHURCH THE    GERMAN    UNITED    BRETHERN 

THE    GERMAN    LUTHERAN — THE    GERMAN     METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH— 

THE     ROMAN      CATHOLIC     CHURCH THE     SOCIETY      OF     FRIENDS THE     OTHER 

CHURCHES THE   MORMONS THE   CHRISTIAN    SCIENTISTS. 

The  Presbyterian  church  is  the  pioneer  faith  of  Danville.  The  organization 
of  this  denomination  into  a  church  in  Danville  was  effected  in  1829.  There  had 
been  service  in  the  place  before  this  time,  however.  This  organization  had  been 
begun  and  completed  by  Rev.  Samuel  Baldridge.  The  original  members  of  this 
church  were  Dr.  Asa  R.  Palmer,  Josiah  Alexander,  Mary  Ann  Alexander,  Eliz- 
abeth Alexander,  Solomon  Gilbert,  Submit  Gilbert,  Lucy  Gilbert  and  Parmele 
Tomlinson.  Dr.  Palmer  was  selected  as  first  ruling  elder.  Rev.  Baldbridge 
organized  this  church  and  was  for  a  few  months  the  pastor. 

It  was  very  early  in  the  life  of  the  church  that  Rev.  Enoch  Kingsbury  was 
made  the  pastor.  This  was  in  1831,  and  his  was  the  pastorate  which  insured  the 
life  of  the  society,  and  to  which  all  writers  of  the  early  history  of  Vermilion 
county  give  greatest  credit.  His  first  year  here  was  rather  uncertain,  but  the 
following  year  he  settled  permanently  in  Danville.  Rev.  Enoch  Kingsbury  was 
a  power  in  Vermilion  County  in  its  early  development,  and  without  him  the  his- 
tory would  have  been  very  different.  He  was  always  a  great  force  for  progress 
and  his  was  a  life  well  worthy  emulation.  He  was  a  tall  fine  looking  man  with 
a  powerful  frame  and  a  decided  manner  which  made  it  impossible  for  his  con- 
viction to  be  questioned. 

Rev.  Kingsbury  has  been  described  briefly  in  the  following  words :  He  was  a 
hero,  a  patriot,  a  philanthropist,  a  Christian  and  an  enthusiast  in  the  work  chosen 
by  him.  He  served  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Danville  faithfully  for  twenty 
years  and  then  left  the  active  work  only  because  of  failing  health  and  strength. 

Rev.  A.  L.  Brooks,  a  man  of  the  old  school  style  of  manners  and  viewpoint 
of  matters  and  things,  came  to  the  pastorate  in  1870  in  December.  He  remained 
for  several  years  and  was  followed  by  Charles  Little. 

342 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  343 

Mr.  Brooks  was  a  man  of  unusual  ability  in  the  way  of  loving  ministering 
to  his  flock  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  a  logical  and  convincing  preacher,  win- 
ning souls  to  his  Master  and  friends  to  himself  by  his  gentle  manner  of  thought 
and  action.  His  pastorate  ended  by  his  death.  Rev.  Brooks  was  buried 
in  Springhill  cemetery. 

Rev.  A.  L.  Brooks  was  born  in  Madison  County,  New  York,  the  son  of  Jesse 
and  Olivia  (Lyons)  Brooks.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
and  in  his  early  life,  was  a  merchant,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was 
postmaster  and  magistrate  of  Mayville,  New  York.  His  mother  was  a  native  of 
Vermont.  The  principal  part  of  Mr.  Brooks'  education  was  had  at  Trenton,  New 
York,  where  he  graduated  in  1844.  He  continued  his  studies  and  graduated  at 
Auburn  two  years  later.  He  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  1846  and 
settled  at  Hamilton,  in  the  state  of  his  birth.  Ten  years  after  he  was  first  or- 
dained he  came  west  and  accepted  a  call  to  the  Third  Presbyterian  church,  where 
he  remained  minister  of  that  church  for  seven  years.  From  Chicago  he  answered 
a  call  to  Peoria,  as  pastor  of  the  Fulton  Street  Presbyterian  church;  thence  to 
Decatur  as  pastor  of  the  New  School  Presbyterian  church  of  that  place  for  three 
years.  The  next  move  he  made  was  to  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Danville.  He 
left  a  New  School  Presbyterian  church  in  Decatur  to  come  to  Danville,  but  he 
came  to  a  New  School  church  when  he  made  the  change  of  location.  During  the 
war  the  Presbyterian  church  split  on  the  matter  of  slavery.  Those  of  the  south 
and  some  localities  of  the  north  held  with  the  larger  number  in  an  attitude  of,  if 
not  sanction,  then  tolerance,  of  the  institution,  while  the  more  radical  went  to 
themselves  and  established  a  communion,  which  was  called  the  New  School  Pres- 
byterian church.  In  the  country  through  the  central  and  southern  part  of  Illi- 
nois and  Indiana,  that  political  borderland  of  the  northern  and  the  southern  sen- 
timents, there  were  many  of  these  new  churches  and  in  some  of  even  the  smaller 
villages  a  church  of  both  the  regular  and  the  New  School  were  to  be  found. 
In  Covington,  Indiana,  the  village  on  the  other  side  of  the  state  line,  this  was 
the  case  and  the  two  churches  were  supported  until  some  time  after  the  war, 
when  the  New  School  church,  no  longer  needing  to  exist,  disbanded  and  the 
membership  sought  other  homes.  In  Decatur  the  New  School  church  was  the 
stronger  than  was  the  regular  church,  and  it  held  its  own.  In  Danville  there  was 
but  the  one  church  and  it  was  of  the  New  School.  This  church  was,  as  it  is  now, 
located  on  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  North  streets. 

The  church  building  was  a  frame  house  and  yet  remains  standing  on  S. 
Walnut  Street.  During  the  first  six  years  of  the  life  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Danville  the  meetings  were  held  at  the  old  log  court  house,  in  private 
houses,  and  in  vacant  rooms  wherever  circumstances  made  it  best  to  go.  In 
I^35  by  means  of  much  personal  sacrifice,  a  church  building  was  put  up  on  the 
site  of  the  present  location  of  the  stone  church.  This  building  is  supposed  to  be 
the  second  Presbyterian  church  building  in  eastern  Illinois. 

This  church  building  became  really  historic;  it  was  used  for  everything  that 
needed  a  hall  in  which  to  hold  meetings.  It  was  used  for  many  years  for  almost 
all  public  gatherings,  Sunday  schools  and  other  schools.  On  account  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  church,  a  new  house  of  worship  was  needed  and  built  in  1858. 
This  house  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  December  24,  1865,  the  ser- 


344  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

mon  on  that  day  being  preached  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tuttle,  president  of  Wabash 
College.  The  cost  of  that  building  was  $12,000.  In  1879,  the  Presbyterian 
church  celebrated  the  semi-centennial  of  the  organization  of  the  society.  In 
1904  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Danville  celebrated  its  seventy-fifth  anniver- 
sary. 

The  ministers  of  this  church  can  easily  be  numbered,  so  few  changes  have 
been  made.  Beginning  at  the  first  there  are :  Rev.  Samuel  Baldridge,  the  first 
minister  who  was  employed  to  serve  but  half  the  time,  he  being  a  man  of  other 
employment.  He  was  a  physician.  Rev.  Kingsbury  was  engaged  in  1831  and 
served  the  church  continuously  for  twenty  years.  After  that  he  continued  his 
service  as  supply  for  seven  years  more.  After  so  acceptable  a  service  as  was 
rendered  by  Rev.  Kingsbury  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  next  pastorates 
would  be  as  extended.  So  it  is  that  the  years  between  1850  and  1870  the  church 
was  served  by  Nathaniel  Kingsbury  (a  brother  of  "Father"  Kingsbury)  and  Orrin 
Cooley,  Chas.  H.  Palmer  (son  of  the  first  elder  Palmer  and  brother  of  Mr.  Eben 
Palmer),  Wm.  R.  Palmer,  James  W.  Stark,  W.  A.  Hendrickson  (who  supplied 
two  months  in  the  summer  of  1864),  David  R.  Love,  Charles  P.  Felch  and 
William  R.  Powers. 

In  1870  Rev.  Asahel  Brooks  came  to  the  pastorate  of  this  church  and  was  the 
beloved  minister  until  his  death  in  1879.  Rev.  Brooks  was  pecularly  fitted  to  be 
a  minister  in  this  locality  and  a  citizen  of  Danville,  at  that  time.  In  1880  Rev. 
Chas.  H.  Little  was  called  to  this  charge  and  served  the  church  until  1893.  Dur- 
ing the  term  of  his  service  the  Presbyterian  church  extended  the  bounds  of  its 
charge  by  doing  some  local  missionary  work  which  resulted  in  the  forming  of 
the  Bethany  church  and  Kingsbury  chapel. 

In  1907,  by  act  of  the  higher  organizations  of  this  denomination,  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  churches  were  united  with  the  regular  Presbyterian 
church  and  the  churches  of  that,  at  one  time,  distinct  church  in  Vermilion 
county,  must  be  considered  under  the  same  general  head.  There  was  a  large 
number  of  accessions  to  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  Danville,  from  the 
Cumberland  church  before  this  union,  however.  That  was  during  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Little. 

Rev.  Little  was  followed  in  his  pastorate  by  Rev.  Willis  E.  Parsons  who  was 
installed  pastor  in  1893.  Under  his  leadership  the  interest  in  Foreign  Missions 
which  this  church  had  always  held,  was  extended  to  the  calling  of  a  missionary 
to  the  field,  the  church  had  decided  to  take  under  particular  care.  It  was  then 
Rev.  Wittemore  was  put  in  charge  of  the  church  in  Korea  which  the  Danville 
church  supported.  Rev.  Parsons  left  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in  Danville  to  be- 
come president  of  the  Parson's  College  in  Iowa,  a  school  established  by  his  grand- 
father. Rev.  Parsons  was  followed  to  the  church  in  Danville  by  Rev.  H.  H. 
Shawhan.  The  first  sermon  was  preached  by  the  new  pastor  on  Christmas  day, 
1904. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has  always  been  a  strong  church  in 
Vermilion  county,  particularly  within  the  southern  part,  owing  more  than  in 
any  other  way  to  the  energy  and  unceasing  efforts  of  Rev.  Ashmore.  This 
branch  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  appealed  to  the  needs  of  the  pioneer  more  force- 
fully than  did  that  of  the  regular  church.  The  greatest  difference  in  the  two 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  345 

churches  were  always  the  question  of  fatality  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
faith,  and  the  objection  to  an  educated  clergy.  Believing  that  a  man  should 
preach  whether  he  was  educated  or  not,  brought  a  class  of  preachers  to  the  front 
who  in  no  way  were  calculated  to  awe  the  people,  and  the  early  settlers  of  Ver- 
milion county,  excepting  those  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  many  of  them  felt  the 
power  of  this  church  and  many  chose  the  Cumberland  church,  so  that  large  con- 
gregations were  ready  to  go  into  the  Presbyterian  church  where  the  union  was 
affected  in  1907. 

Through  the  untiring  efforts  of  Rev.  Ashmore  in  the  early  days,  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church  had  a  phenomenal  growth  in  the  southern  part  of 
Vermilion  County.  It  was  not  long  after  he  began  his  work  in  Vermilion  County 
that  Rev.  Ashmore  was  invited  to  preach  in  the  northeast  part  of  Elwood  town- 
ship. He  was  a  powerful  preacher  and  formed  a  church  there  in  1842,  which 
took  the  name  of  Liberty  church. 

Foster  Elliott  and  wife,  Alexander  Campbell  and  wife,  Andrew  Davis  and 
wife,  Mrs.  Kiturah  Whitlock,  Mrs.  Baldwin  and  James  Walls  were  among  the 
first  members.  Elliott,  Campbell  and  Davis  were  the  first  elders. 

The  old  log  meeting  house  was  built  on  Foster  Elliott's  land  in  1843  and 
stood  about  a  half  mile  southwest  of  the  building,  afterward  put  up  for  the 
same  purpose.  In  1871  there  was  a  more  pretentious  church  built.  The  man 
who  served  this  church  as  pastors  during  the  early  days  of  the  life  of  this  church 
were  Rev.  James  Ashmore,  Rev.  A.  Whitlock,  Mr.  Vandeventer,  J.  W.  Jordon, 
James  McFerrin,  H.  Vandyne  and  again  Rev.  Ashmore.  This  church  is  at 
present  on  the  circuit  with  the  church  at  Georgetown. 

The  Yankee  Point  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  by  Rev. 
Ashmore,  November  5,  1853.  The  beginning  of  this  church  was  interesting. 
Rev.  Ashmore  was  in  the  midst  of  a  series  of  fervent  meetings  which  he  was 
holding  in  the  school  house,  and  having  them  at  the  noon  hour  so  as  not  to 
disturb  the  school,  when  one  of  the  directors  forbade  the  continuance  of  the 
meetings.  The  evangelist  and  his  congregation  were  in  no  wise  daunted  but 
went  to  the  house  of  James  Thompson  and  had  their  meetings.  The  next  day 
Rev.  Ashmore  had  a  deed  for  a  lot  put  into  his  hand  upon  which  to  put  up  a 
house  of  worship,  and  a  subscription  with  which  to  build  it.  The  people  made 
quick  work  both  in  organizing  a  society  and  in  building  a  church  in  which  to 
have  their  meetings.  William  Shark,  William  Golden,  Arthur  Patterson  and 
James  Long,  were  chosen  elders  and  Isaac  McPherson  and  William  Carmichael, 
deacons.  The  membership  was  fifty  to  begin  with,  and  comprised  many  names 
of  the  prominent  early  settlers.  Of  these,  five  went  into  the  ministry.  Allen 
Whitlock  and  his  two  brothers,  (James  and  Thomas),  Elam  Golden  and  J.  H. 
Milholland. 

James  Ashmore  and  Allen  Whitlock  preached  for  this  church  twenty  years,, 
and  were  followed  by  Revs.  W.  O.  Smith,  L.  P.  Detheridge,  Jonathan  Cooley,. 
Mr.  Groves  and  G.  W.  Montgomery.  This  church  was  built  almost  in  the 
exact  geographical  center  of  Elwood  township  as  it  was  before  its  division. 
Another  church  in  this  township  was  the  old  Gilead. 

It  was  organized  about  the  year  after  that  at  Yankee  Point.  The  Fairmount 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Jordon  in  1866. 


346  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

This  church  was  largely  made  up  of  those  who  came  to  this  place  to  live  from 
the  neighborhood  of  Mt.  Vernon  church.  The  church  was  built  in  1871.  It 
had  both  Rev.  Ashmore  and  his  son  as  preachers. 

The  Olive  Branch  Cumberland  church  was  first  built  at  old  Homer,  but  when 
that  town  moved  the  church  was  located  on  the  state  road  on  what  was  then  Wm. 
Hardin's  land.  All  these  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churches  are  united  in  cir- 
cuits under  the  management  of  the  regular  Presbyterian  government. 

Rev.  Enoch  Kingsbury  was  the  pioneer  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Vermilion 
County,  and  Ross  township  reports  his  preaching  from  the  time  of  its  first 
settlement.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  county  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
had  possession  of  the  field,  and  no  early  communions  of  the  regular  Presbyte- 
rian church  were  established.  It  was  in  Danville  and  Ross  township  and  Newell 
township  that  they  are  to  be  found. 

When  Alvin  Gilbert  went  to  Ross  township  he  carried  the  devotion  to  the  Pres- 
byterian church  and  to  Rev.  Kingsbury  which  came  from  personal  knowledge.  The 
Presbyterian  church  was  organized  at  his  house  in  1850  by  Rev.  Kingsbury. 
There  were  six  members  united  to  form  the  church :  Joseph  Hains,  Millie 
Bicknell,  Eliza  Kingsbury,  David  and  Elizabeth  Strain  and  Mrs.  Nancy  Gil- 
bert. Mr.  Gilbert  did  not  himself  join  the  church  until  some  months  after- 
ward. Services  were  held  in  Mr.  Gilbert's  house  until  the  Odd  Fellows  built 
their  hall  when,  in  common  with  all  other  denominations,  services  were  held 
there.  Rev.  Kingsbury 's  long  service  was  terminated  in  1868,  when  Rev.  W.  N. 
Steele  was  employed,  and  continued  to  minister  to  the  church  until  1874.  At 
this  time  Rev.  John  H.  Dillingham,  who  had  been  for  several  years  city  mis- 
sionary in  St.  Louis,  was  employed  in  this  Rossville  church,  where  he  remained 
for  some  years.  The  church  building  was  erected  in  about  1869.  It  was  a 
neat  frame  building  32x54,  and  cost  $3,000.  It  had  a  vestibule  at  the  corner 
surmounted  by  a  belfry.  It  was  dedicated  October,  1870. 

The  first  appointment  made  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Danville 
was  in  1829,  although  probably  some  meetings  had  been  held  a  year  earlier. 
Danville  was  a  part  of  the  Eugene  circuit,  and  covered  also  appointments  in 
Indiana,  and  all  of  what  is  now  known  as  Vermilion  County  and  Champaign 
County.  It  was  a  four  weeks'  circuit,  the  preachers  on  it  holding  service  every 
day  in  the  week.  Rev.  James  McKain  and  Rev.  J.  E.  French  were  the  first 
preachers  in  this  circuit.  After  them  came  Rev.  William  Harshy  and  Rev. 
Cotton  James. 

In  1836  G.  W.  Wallace  made  a  warranty  deed  to  the  county  commissioners 
(in  trust)  for  the  lot  on  corner  of  North  and  Vermilion  streets.  There  seems 
to  have  been  no  trustees  at  that  time,  hence  the  deed  being  made  to  the  com- 
missioners. In  the  interim,  service  was  held  in  private  houses,  the  school  house, 
and  in  the  groves.  Among  the  first  class  leaders  was  Isaac  McKinney,  who 
lived  near  Kyger's  mill.  He  would  walk  to  town  and  back  again  for  the  pur- 
pose of  holding  the  meetings.  Among  the  members  of  the  first  class  were 
Samuel  Whitman  and  wife,  Harvey  Luddington  and  wife,  James  Hulce  and 
wife,  Mrs.  Mary  Sconce,  and  a  few  others.  The  first  church  building  was  put 
up  soon  after  the  deed  was  made  and  cost  $800.  Later  a  new  house  of  worship 
was  built  on  the  same  lot  at  a  cost  of  $13,500,  which  served  the  North  street 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  347 

church  as  long  as  it  remained  on  that  location.  When  this  church  was  built, 
it  was  called  the  finest  house  of  worship  in  eastern  Illinois. 

In  1869  a  division  of  the  North  Street  church  was  effected,  and  a  new  so- 
ciety formed.  This  was  in  February  of  this  year,  and  by  the  following  month 
Rev.  Enoch  Jones  was  officially  appointed  by  the  presiding  elder  as  preacher 
in  this  charge.  Rev.  Sampson  Shinn  was  the  presiding  elder.  Rev.  Jones  con- 
tinued in  this  relation  until  the  following  April,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Nelson  R.  Whitehead,  who  was  the  preacher  until  the  meeting  of  conference 
the  following  fall,  when  Rev.  James  Rucker  assumed  the  pastorate.  At  the 
date  of  its  formal  organization,  this  society  had  twenty  members.  Its  first 
quarterly  conference  was  held  June  7,  1869.  The  first  board  of  trustees  com- 
prised John  McMahan,  John  M.  Mann,  Jacob  L.  Hill,  George  W.  Hooton, 
Thomas  Neely  and  J.  G.  English.  The  board  of  stewards  were :  Thomas  Mc- 
Kibben,  E.  C.  Abdill,  G.  W.  Hooton,  T.  Neely,  J.  L.  Hill,  J.  M.  Lamm,  J.  G. 
English  and  J.  Moody.  Mr.  English  was  appointed  recording  steward.  As 
soon  as  the  society  was  organized,  the  building  of  a  house  of  worship  was  un- 
dertaken, and  the  dedication  was  November  18,  1869.  The  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  Granville  Moody  of  Kentucky.  This  church  was  named  soon  after 
its  organization,  in  honor  of  Rev.  I.  C.  Kimber.  The  pastors  of  Kimber  church 
has  been  as  follows:  Rev.  J.  C.  Rucker,  Rev.  George  Stevens,  Rev.  William  S. 
Hooper,  Rev.  Wm.  S.  Musgrove. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  preeminently  the  popular  pioneer  society. 
In  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  the  Society  of  Friends  and  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  divided  territory  in  the  southern  part  of  it,  and  the  Christian 
church  competed  for  ground  in  Blount  and  Pilot  townships,  yet  the  Methodists 
were  by  no  means  crowded  out.  Elijah  Yager  went  from  Tennessee  to  teach 
in  a  family  of  Friends  in  Elwood  township,  and  held  regular  meetings  of 
those  leaning  to  this  other  faith,  before  there  was  any  circuit  made  in  connection 
with  any  conference.  The  first  regular  meetings  of  this  church  in  connection 
with  any  conference,  were  conducted  by  Rev.  James  McKain  and  his  assistant. 
Rev.  John  E.  French.  These  men  had  charge  of  the  Eugene  circuit.  Services 
were  held  in  the  house  of  Samuel  Graham.  This  was  in  1828.  These  two  men 
divided  the  circuit,  thereby  going  to  every  charge  once  each  fortnight.  Each  of 
the  two  preachers  preached  every  day.  They  preached  at  Georgetown  and  at 
Cassadys.  A  class  was  formed  at  Mr.  Grahams  house,  consisting  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Graham,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thos.  Shires,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thos.  Standfield,  and  Miss 
Graham.  Mr.  Shires  was  the  first  class  leader.  Mr.  French  was  an  English- 
man. The  circuit  rider  has  become  a  thing  of  the  past;  his  sufferings  would 
seem  more  unendurable  these  days  of  luxury,  but  at  that  time  were  taken 
but  as  a  matter  of  course.  Constantly  on  the  go  to  meet  appointment,  never 
considering  the  meagre  wage,  his  life  is  a  marvel  of  unselfish  helpfulness,  al- 
most beyond  the  understanding  of  a  young  person  of  the  present  day. 

Among  the  local  preachers  who  kept  up  the  work  in  this  community  were 
Joseph  Allison,  Mr.  Cassady,  Patrick  Cowan,  Arthur  J.  Jackson,  and  Wm. 
Stowers.  Of  the  traveling  preachers,  those  on  record  are  Mr.  Bradshaw,  Asa 
and  John  McMoultry,  and  Mr.  Anderson  and  others.  There  was  a  class 
formed  at  Ridge  Farm  in  1852.  This  grew  out  of  the  class  formed  four  years 


348  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

before  this,  about  a  mile  to  the  south.  At  the  time  the  class  was  moved, 
Rev.  G.  W.  Fairbanks  was  the  presiding  elder,  and  Rev.  R.  C.  Horton 
was  the  preacher  in  charge.  J.  J.  Donavan  was  class  leader.  Rev.  Horton 
was  a  man  of  more  than  usual  fearlessness  of  speech,  and  it  is  said  that  when 
he  found  that  many  of  the  class,  did  not  attend  class  meeting,  he  expressed 
himself  in  a  characteristic  way.  At  the  end  of  the  quarter  he  found  that  but 
17  of  the  35  whose  names  were  on  the  class  book  had  attended,  he  set  for- 
ward the  17  names  and  made  this  entry  in  the  book:  "I  have  only  set  for- 
ward the  names  of  those  people  who  have  been  to  meeting;  this  is  the  best  I 
can  do.  N.  B.  If  any  more  of  the  members  wish  to  be  considered  members, 
they  must  show  their  wish  by  their  coming  forward  and  claiming  their  mem- 
bership, and  being  Methodists."  At  this  time  Ridge  Farm  belonged  to  George- 
town circuit.  The  first  meetings  were  held  in  the  Hardscrabble  school  house. 
Among  the  early  members  were  David  Ankrum,  Israel  Patton,  Joseph  Kuns, 
Thos.  Robinson,  William  Foster,  J.  R.  Green,  Jesse  Smith,  David  Little,  Jonah 
Hole,  Thos.  Henderson,  and  Cyrus  Douglas.  Old  father  Robinson  never  failed 
to  be  on  hand  when  it  was  meeting  time,  and  if  there  were  no  others  there, 
would  sing  and  pray  as  though  the  house  was  full.  The  first  church  was  built 
in  1856,  at  which  time  S.  Elliott  was  presiding  elder,  and  Simpson  Shinn  was 
preacher  in  charge.  The  building  was  35  by  55,  and  was  a  very  comfortable 
house.  In  1859  Levi  C.  Peters  was  presiding  elder  and  Rev.  G.  W.  Fairbanks, 
preacher.  J.  Hole  and  Thomas  Henderson  were  class  leaders.  In  1863  it  be- 
came Ridge  Farm  circuit.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  church  was  burned, 
and  the  society  bought  a  store  building,  where  they  worshiped  until  1872,  when 
another  church  was  built.  This  church  was  built  35  by  60,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000. 

Another  Methodist  church  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Allison, 
who  lived  on  section  25,  at  Quaker  Point  as  early  as  1831  or  1832.  The 
preachers  of  the  Danville  circuit  preached  here  with  considerable  regularity, 
and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  Bethel  church.  A  log  church  was  built  near 
the  state  line  in  1842,  by  Mr.  Allison,  Wm.  Kendell  and  others.  Mr.  Galladay 
wished  to  build  it  further  north,  and  had  some  logs  hewn  for  that  purpose. 

A  Methodist  church  was  built  in  Rossville  in  1869.  It  was  built  of  brick 
and  cost  $5,500.  It  was  dedicated  by  elder  Moody,  who  was  called  the  "fight- 
ing parson."  This  reputation  he  made  in  the  army  when  he  would  fight  all  day 
and  pray  all  night,  with  equal  power  and  faith.  There  was  a  union  church 
building  put  up  on  section  34,  about  two  miles  from  the  south  and  two  from 
the  eastern  line  of  the  township,  in  which  any  Christian  denomination  was 
free  to  worship.  The  Methodist  class  made  use  of  this,  having  the  preachers  who 
belonged  to  the  Hoopeston  circuit  to  be  their  pastors. 

The  Methodist  church  of  Hoopeston  was  organized  in  1872,  by  Rev.  B.  F. 
Hyde,  of  Rossville,  and  with  Rev.  Preston  Wood  as  presiding  elder.  The  preach- 
ing was  first  in  McCracken's  store.  The  circuit  at  that  time  included  Schwartz, 
East  Lynne,  and  Antioch,  Rev.  A.  H.  Alkire  being  pastor.  In  1873  Rev.  W.  L. 
Lang  was  pastor,  J.  W.  Phillips  was  presiding  elder.  Dick  school  house  and 
Bridgemans  school  house  were  added  as  regular  appointments.  In  1874  Rev. 
Muirhead  was  pastor,  and  it  was  during  his  pastorate  that  the  church  was  built. 
The  first  class  in  Middle  Fork  was  organized  at  the  house  of  John  Johns,  in 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  349 

1829.  It  was  in  this  year  that  MrL_Reubeii^axtlow  went  with  John  Johns, 
who  lived  ten  miles  southeast  of  the  Partlow  neighborhood  to  Danville  to 
attend  meeting  and  to  ask  the  preacher,  Rev.  McKain  to  send  an  appointment 
to  their  neighborhood.  They  were  successful,  perhaps  to  tlie  extent  of  hav- 
ing the  circuit  extended  to  the  Partlow  neighborhood.  That,  however,  is  a 
question  not  fully  settled  at  this  time.  At  the  time  the  circuit  was  extended 
to  Johns,  it  was  the  Eugene  circuit,  and  extended  to  Big  Grove  in  Champaign 
County.  Rev.  Hershey,  it  is  remembered,  followed  Rev.  McKain  and  during 
his  pastorate  the  circuit  did  extend  to  the  Partlow  neighborhood.  Ten  years 
later  this  class  grew  to  be  the  Partlow  church.  During  the  pastorate  of  the 
preacher  next  following  these  classes  became  a  part  of  the  Danville  circuit. 
For  at  least  ten  years  there  were  no  church  buildings,  but  preaching  was  held 
in  homes.  Where  there  were  two  rooms  in  a  house,  the  preacher  could  stand 
so  as  to  be  heard  in  both  rooms.  The  preaching  points  were  Blue  Grass,  Part- 
lows  and  Moreheads.  The  list  of  preachers  were  identical  with  those  of  Dan- 
ville, which  are  given  on  another  page.  Of  these,  Mr.  Risley  was  a  good  man, 
but  he  got  into  trouble  through  a  desire  to  see  one  party  win  the  election;  he 
was  too  much  of  a  partisan  to  suit  his  people.  Mr.  Little  was  a  talented 
preacher  and  a  very  acceptable  pastor,  but  got  into  debt  and  did  not  have  the 
courage  to  face  it  out.  Few  of  these  preachers  if  any,  had  any  education,  but 
were  popular  with  their  people.  Rev.  Harshey  lived  and  died  in  Danville,  and 
has  always  been  spoken  of  with  respect  and  praise. 

In  1840  Mr.  Partlow  begged  to  contribute  land  upon  which  a  church  could 
be  built.  This  added  one  more  reason  for  the  gratitude  of  the  people  to  this 
pioneer  in  Methodism  in  the  country  included  in  Middle  Fork  township.  This 
little  church  on  the  Middle  Fork  bottoms  was  a  rude  affair.  The  studding, 
beams  and  rafters  were  poles ;  the  laths  were  rived  out  and  the  shingles  were 
home  made ;  in  fact  it  was  all  homemade  material  except  the  door,  windows  and 
siding.  The  seats  were  slabs  with  legs  stuck  in  them.  This  building  was  used 
for  the  first  school  held  in  town.  In  1865,  another  church  was  built  and  called 
the  Partlow  chapel.  For  a  long  time  this  was  a  part  of  the  Vermilion  cir- 
cuit, but  in  1865  the  four  appointments  were  set  off  and  became  Blue  Grass 
appointment. 

In  1877  the  parsonage  at  Myersville  was  built.  The  church  at  what  was  called 
Blue  Grass,  was  built  in  1854  during  the  administration  of  Rev.  Wallace,  and 
was  named  for  him,  being  called  Wallace  chapel.  It  stands  in  section  28,  one- 
half  mile  south  of  Blue  Grass  postoffice.  The  first  church  built  at  Marys- 
ville  was  put  up  in  1870.  An  old  Methodist  Episcopal  church  which  stood 
about  one-half  mile  south  of  Newtown,  was  built  in  1835  or  1836.  It  was 
later  called  old  Bethel.  A  class  had  been  formed  some  time  before  this  time 
and  met  in  private  homes.  The  prominent  members  of  this  society  at  that  time 
were  Eli  Helmick,  Stephen  Griffith,  Mr.  Hasten,  and  many  others.  The  Bethel 
circuit  included  a  vast  territory.  People  came  for  remote  points  in  order  to 
go  to  church.  Twenty  miles  was  not  considered  a  great  distance  to  go  to 
quarterly  meeting.  In  1873  a  new  church  was  built  in  Newtown.  The  New- 
town  circuit  included  the  stations  of  Pilot,  Chapel,  Emberry,  Finley  and  Bethel. 
Nearly  all  the  first  organized  societies  of  Oakwood  township  were  the  outgrowth 


350  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  the  church  at  Bethel.  In  Blount  township  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  was  at  the  home  of  John  Johns,  and  for  seven  years  this  society  held 
their  service  at  that  place.  About  1839  a  small  frame  church  was  built  near 
Mr.  Johns  home. 

The  Fairchilds  church,  usually  called  the  brick,  was  built  in  1849.  It  was 
built  under  the  supervision  of  Daniel  Fairchild,  but  all  the  people  gladly  helped 
to  put  up  their  house.  The  Lewman  church  was  built  in  1858.  Mr.  James 
Lewman  and  John  Wattles  were  interested  in  getting  the  work  along.  Old 
Peter  Hastings,  an  itinerant  preacher,  whose  life  was  consecrated  to  his  work, 
used  to  hold  services  in  the  Lewman  home,  organized  the  first  class  here  and 
urged  the  building  of  "Lebanon." 

On  day,  in  1826,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher  was  passing  the  house 
of  William  Delay,  in  Newell  township,  and  Mr.  Delay  invited  him  to  stop.  Be- 
fore he  left  he  preached  a  sermon  to  the  neighbors  who  had  collected  to  hear 
him.  The  Delay  class  was  immediately  organized  and  the  circuit  preaching 
begun.  Mr.  Delay  and  his  wife  Susan  were  first  members  of  this  class.  At 
different  times  between  this  date  and  1835  the  following  with  many  others 
whose  names  have  not  been  kept,  went  into  this  class :  Mary  Boston,  Anthony 
Howard,  John  Brewer  and  his  wife  Lavina,  Aunt  Polly  Makemson  and  her 
husband,  James  Makemson,  Christina  Brewer,  Sarah  Roderick,  Jane  and  Jacob 
Delay,  Aunt  Polly  Current,  and  her  husband,  William  Current.  This  was  the 
first  Methodist  class  organized  in  Newell  township,  and  indeed  the  first  preach- 
ing as  well.  The  next  place  was  Peter  Starr's.  This  was  a  stated  place  for 
worship  for  several  years.  The  genuine  piety  and  hospitality  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Starr  endeared  them  to  all  the  class.  The  services  were  begun  there  in  the 
fall  of  1829.  The  Eckler  school  house  was  used  for  services  of  not  only  this 
denomination,  but  of  all  others.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  preachers  were  the 
same  as  those  in  Danville.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Myersville  did 
not  organize  until  about  1840.  Meetings  were  held  at  Henry  Wood's,  John 
Humphrey's  James  Davison's  and  the  Kerr  school  house.  In  about  1854  the 
meeting  house  at  Myers  mill  was  built  and  called  Wesley  chapel.  This  church 
has  met  the  fate  of  the  town  of  Myersville. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  society  was  organized  at  State  Line  in  1857.  I" 
about  1865  they  built  their  church.  Samuel  Beck,  who  afterward  won  dis- 
tinction in  the  pulpits  of  Indiana,  was  preacher  at  that  time.  The  first  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  class  formed  in  Butler  township  was  organized  in  1855.  It 
It  was  formed  at  the  house  of  Eli  Dobb.  It  was  an  interesting  class  and  grew' 
into  three  separate  churches:  that  at  Schwartz,  at  Rankin  and  at  Pellsville. 
When  this  church  was  formed  there  were  sixteen  members.  C.  Atkinson  was 
the  preacher  in  charge,  and  John  Vinson  was  his  assistant.  This  church  be- 
longed to  the  Danville  circuit,  and  there  was  no  church  in  all  the  country  but 
the  Wallace  chapel  and  the  old  church  in  the  bottoms  called  Partlow's  church. 
The  preaching  appointment  was  each  alternate  week,  and  as  it  was  a  very 
cold  winter,  Atkinson  did  not  reach  his  appointments  all  during  the  winter. 
Mr.  Vinson  was  faithful,  however,  and  there  was  service  at  every  appointed 
day.  Greenbury  Garner,  Milo  Butler,  and  W.  H.  McVey,  were  on  the  Dan- 
ville circuit  before  1861.  Mr.  Elliott  was  presiding  elder  and  after  him  was 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  351 

L.  Pilnor.  The  Blue  Grass  circuit  was  formed  in  1865,  and  the  Swartz  school 
house  was  built.  S.  Shinn  was  presiding  elder.  The  class  was  divided,  and 
those  living  near  here  were  provided  with  regular  preaching  at  this  school 
house,  which  appointment  belonged  to  the  Blue  Grass  circuit,  and  those  over 
by  Dobbs  were  in  the  Paxton  circuit  The  class  over  at  East  Lynn  was  formed 
in  1869.  The  church  was  built  in  1875,  an(l  although  they  had  some  help  from 
Danville,  the  most  of  the  expense  was  borne  by  the  local  church.  It  was  built 
under  the  preaching  of  Rev.  J.  Muirhead.  This  was  put  into  the  Hoopeston 
circuit.  The  Methodist  church  at  Rankin  was  built  in  1874.  The  first  preacher 
here  was  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Musgrove.  This  church  really  became  the  successor 
to  the  first  class  organized  in  the  township,  at  Dobbs'  house,  which  appoint- 
ment was  in  the  Paxton  circuit. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  built  in  1873  and  1874.  It  was  put 
into  the  Rankin  circuit  and  served  by  the  same  preachers  that  were  at  Rankin. 
The  Baptist  church  of  Danville  was  organized  in  1873,  and  held  meetings  for 
that  purpose  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  named  in  Robert  McDonald's 
hall,  over  Freese  &  Bayles  store  on  Main  street.  After  a  sermon  preached  by 
the  Rev.  T.  S.  Graham,  he  advised  those  present  who  felt  at  all  so  inclined 
to  organize  a  church,  the  following  persons  signed  the  covenant:  Mrs.  F.  B. 
Freese,  Mrs.  M.  F.  C.  Swilbur,  M.  K.  Gayle,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Holton,  Mrs.  S. 
Kimball,  J.  W.  Parker,  E.  Wilkinson,  Mrs.  E.  Wilkinson  and  Mrs.  Eliza  Davis. 
The  church  then  call  Rev.  Graham  to  be  their  pastor.  This  church  built  their 
house  of  worship  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Madison  streets.  They  very 
much  need  a  new  church  which  they  expect  to  build  soon  and,  indeed  have  had 
the  means  to  this  end  for  several  past  years.  The  Baptist  church  of  Hoopeston 
was  organized  by  Rev.  G.  T.  Willis  from  Champaign  in  1873,  with  twelve  mem- 
bers. The  church  was  put  into  the  Gilman  Association,  and  for  a  long  time 
was  kept  in  connection  without  a  pastor. 

The  old  Middle  Fork  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  1834,  by  Elder  Free- 
man Smalley,  with  about  twenty  members.  Freeman,  Benjamin  and  James 
Smalley  and  their  wives,  Mr.  Herro  and  wife,  Polly  Stearns,  Levi  Asher  and 
wife,  Mr.  Pursell  and  wife,  Mr.  Stevens  (a  licensed  preacher  of  English 
birth)  and  wife,  Mr.  A.  Sowders  and  wife,  Mr.  Pentecost  and  wife,  Samuel 
Copeland  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  White  were  early  members  of  this  church.  This 
church  was  prosperous  until  the  war  times,  when  questions  arose  and  the 
people  took  strong  sides,  which  resulted  in  disaster.  In  1852  a  church  was 
organized  called  Hopewell,  and  included  as  many  as  possible  of  the  parent 
church,  together  with  newcomers,  in  and  about  Blue  Grass.  The  pastors  of 
the  old  church  succeeding  Elder  Smalley,  were  Revs.  Dodson,  A.  C.  Blanken- 
ship  and  Benjamin  Harris. 

The  Point  Pleasant  church  was  organized  in  1866  by  Elder  C.  B.  Seals, 
who  was  a  licensed  preacher.  Under  his  pastorate,  the  church  was  built  in 
1867.  A  word  should  be  said  right  here  about  the  Smalley  family.  They 
came  among  the  very  first  to  the  northwestern  part  of  Blount  township,  and 
have  exercised  a  beneficial  influence  on  society,  as  leaders  in  religion  and  edu- 
cational affairs.  These  earnest  pioneer  believers  upheld  the  doctrine  of  the 
Baptist  faith  in  and  around  Higginsville.  They  organized  several  churches  in 


352  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

this  vicinity.  The  good  results  of  Freeman  Smalley's  labors  are  by  no  means 
forgotten,  even  to  this  day.  The  first  Baptist  church  was  formed  at  Mr. 
Smalley's  house  in  about  1834.  As  no  house  used  as  a  home  could  hold  the 
people  who  wanted  to  hear  him  preach,  the  followers  soon  looked  about  to 
find  a  place  of  better  accommodations.  In  1837  the  church  was  built  at  Hig- 
ginsville,  a  few  rods  west  of  where  the  store  afterward  stood.  This  church 
was  the  product  of  united  labor.  It  was  built  as  carefully  as  possible,  and  all 
the  neighborhood  was  out  ready  and  anxious  to  give  of  their  best  strength  and 
skill.  The  siding  was  made  of  black  walnut,  and  the  floor  was  made  of  ash. 
This  building  stood  in  place  until  it  went  into  such  need  of  repair  it  was  taken 
down.  One  of  the  preachers  must  have  had  great  influence  if  he  was  as  well 
rounded  out  as  was  his  name.  This  was  Elder  Bartlett  Dowell  Crede  Herro. 
Other  preachers  were  Elder  Smalley  and  the  Blankenships.  The  regular  Pre- 
destinarian  Baptists  were  early  in  the  field  as  a  religious  factor  in  Oakwood 
township.  Their  first  meetings  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  Conkeytown. 
These  meetings  were  in  a  school  house  near  the  old  Aaron  Dalby  farm.  Rhodes 
Smith  was  the  principal  man  of  influence  in  the  church.  At  that  time  he  was 
keeping  a  small  store  on  the  east  side  of  Stoney  Creek,  on  the  state  road.  John 
Orr  was  the  first  preacher  in  this  "hardshell  Baptist"  church.  A  little  later 
Mr.  Smith  moved  further  up  the  creek  near  "Crab  Apple  Grove,"  and  a  society 
was  formed  and  met  at  his  house  regularly.  This  was  in  1858.  The  organizer 
and  minister  was  Rev.  John  Orr.  After  some  time  the  meetings  were  held  in 
the  Gormon  school  house.  They  continued  to  be  held  in  this  school  house  until 
the  building  of  their  church,  one  and  a  half  miles  north  of  Oakwood  station. 
This  was  put  up  in  the  spring  of  1876. 

About  1854  the  Missionary  Baptists  established  a  church  on  Stoney  Creek. 
The  first  preachers  were  Carter  and  Blankenship.  One  of  the  prominent  mem- 
bers of  this  society  was  Seneca  Stearns.  The  church  was  built  in  1857.  This 
denomination  is  not  largely  represented  in  the  county,  and  although  there  may 
be  other  societies  of  them  in  the  past,  this  is  the  only  one  discovered. 

Before  attempting  a  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  this  county,  it  is 
well  to  have  the  distinction  made  between  what  at  first  appears  to  be  several 
denominations.  The  confusion  of  the  churches,  called  the  Church  of  Christ,  the 
Christian,  the  Campbellites  and  the  New  Lights,  all  arise  from  there  being 
real  names  and  nicknames  of  the  same  societies.  There  are  the  two  churches 
only:  the  one  is  the  Church  of  Christ,  which  is  sometimes  called  the  "Camp- 
bellite"  church,  because  its  members  are  followers  of  the  teachings  of  Alex- 
ander Campbell;  and  the  Christian  church  which  is  sometimes  known  as  the 
"New  Light"  church. 

In  Danville,  there  are  four  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  one  of  the  Christian 
church.  These  churches  are  both  represented  in  Vermilion  County.  Until  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  there  were  no  churches  of  this  denomination  in  Danville.  John  P. 
Rowe  held  service  in  the  hall  of  the  LeSeure  block  in  that  month,  the  result 
of  which  was  the  organization  of  a  church  of  this  denomination.  Soon  after 
this  time,  the  church  called  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Jewell,  as  their  pastor.  He  remained 
in  charge  for  some  time,  being  at  the  same  time  editor  of  the  Danville  News. 
During  the  time  of  his  pastorate  the  church  increased  in  numbers  and  put  up 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  YET  STANDING  ON  SOUTH  WALNUT  STREET 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  353 

a  neat  building.  This  beginning  has  resulted  in  establishing  three  churches  of 
this  denomination  in  Danville.  These  churches  are  not  only  strong  in  num- 
bers, but  are  able  to  report  much  good,  having  been  done  by  them.  Rev.  S.  S. 
Jones  came  to  the  First  Church  of  Christ  in  1894,  and  has  proven  to  be  a  man 
of  unusual  strength  in  his  church.  After  a  pastorate  of  several  years,  he  severed 
his  connection  with  that  church,  but  not  to  leave  Danville.  A  second  Church 
of  Christ  had  already  been  organized  and  had  a  pastor.  So  popular  were 
both  Rev.  Jones  and  his  wife,  that  a  third  church  was  formed  and  he  was  called 
to  it  as  its  pastor.  That  church  has  proven  a  force  for  great  good  in  the 
community.  It  has  supported  a  mission  Sunday  school  in  both  Oaklawn  and 
South  Danville.  Oaklawn  school  is  under  the  charge  of  the  Second  Church, 
more  fully  than  that  of  this  church  at  present,  but  the  Sunday  school  in  South 
Danville  is  the  work  of  the  third  Church  of  Christ,  without  aid  from  any  other 
church. 

The  Church  of  Christ  was  made  popular  and  extended  in  its  usefulness 
through  the  work  of  Raleigh  Martin.  What  Rev.  Ashmore  was  to  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church,  Rev.  Martin  was  to  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Vermilion  County.  He  located  a  church  at  Hoopeston  in  1873.  The  Church 
of  Christ  was  organized  at  Fairmount  in  1877.  Another  church  organized  by 
elder  Martin  was  at  Marysville  in  1860.  Another  of  his  successful  churches 
was  organized  in  a  school  house,  north  of  Conkeytown,  in  about  this  time  or 
earlier.  The  church  organized  at  the  Gormon  school  house,  was  yet  another 
Elder  Martin  established.  Several  churches  were  early  established  in  Blount 
township.  The  one  which  was  formed  in  1834  with  Samuel  Swisher,  Samuel 
Bloomfield  and  James  Magee,  as  the  first  officers,  met  from  house  to  house 
for  many  years,  and  at  last  put  up  a  building  just  east  of  Copelands.  Elder 
Martin  preached  here  once  a  month  for  fifteen  years.  This  denomination  was 
represented  in  Newell  township  as  early  as  1834.  The  church  was  called  the 
Walnut  Corners.  When  the  meeting  house  was  built  in  1850,  every  denomi- 
nation was  made  to  feel  free  to  use  it.  Pleasant  View  Church  of  Christ  was 
located  in  the  Leonard  settlement.  There  are  other  churches  of  this  denomi- 
nation to  be  found  throughout  this  section.  This  church  had  much  to  do  in 
shaping  the  history  of  Vermilion  County,  particularly  in  the  western  part  and 
the  northern  part. 

The  Christian  church,  or  "New  Lights"  as  they  are  often  called,  have 
societies  throughout  the  county.  There  is  one  church  of  this  denomination  in 
Danville  located  on  North  Walnut  street.  The  others  which  were  formed  at 
an  early  time  in  the  history  of  the  county  are:  the  one  at  Tilton  organized 
in  1872,  the  one  at  section  34,  in  Grant  township,  founded  in  1870,  the  society 
at  Finley  chapel,  the  church  at  Conkeytown,  and  other  parts  of  Oakwood  township. 

Churches  which  have  determined  history  in  the  eastern  states,  such  as  the 
Congregational  the  Unitarian,  and  the  Universalist  society,  are  found  com- 
pletely wanting  in  Vermilion  County.  The  exception  of  the  latter  must  be 
made,  however,  since  there  is  a  church  of  this  denomination  in  Hoopeston. 
Up  to  the  years  1863-64,  there  was  no  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  Vermilion 
County.  This  is  not  such  as  strange  thing  as  at  first  seems.  Up  to  that  time, 
the  pioneer  days  had  hardly  passed  and  the  church  of  this  denomination  did  not 


354  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

appeal  to  the  back  woodsman  or  the  hardy  tradesman,  or  man  of  a  trade, 
particularly  as  it  was  the  church  of  a  nation  which  this  nation  had  hardly  come 
to  emulate.  The  habits  of  refined  society  rather  than  those  of  a  new  country 
builds  up  these  churches,  while  those  of  the  pioneer  tend  toward  building  up 
the  churches  as  the  Christian  church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  and  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  churches.  So  it  is  that  the  county  was  thirty  and  more 
years  old,  before  there  was  a  demand  for  a  church  of  this  denomination.  And 
even  when  there  were  enough  newcomers  to  make  an  organization  of  this 
kind  possible,  the  church  came  and  remained  as  a  mission  rather  than  an  in- 
dependent church. 

Rev.  Osborn  of  Chicago  held  service  during  the  years  of  1863  and  1864. 
December  10,  1865,  E.  J.  Puryt,  at  that  time  late  of  Logansport,  Indiana,  was 
here  holding  service.  The  following  evening  a  meeting  was  called  with  the 
purpose  of  definite  work.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  founding  of  a  church 
was  brought  about.  A  committee  of  general  extension  was  appointed  and 
consisted  of  the  following:  Mrs.  Wm.  Hessey,  Mrs.  Henry  S.  Forbes,  Mrs. 
Matilda  Holton,  and  Messrs.  John  Donlon,  J.  C.  Winslow,  Charles  Cotton, 
J.  R.  Baker  and  R.  W.  Hanford.  At  the  organization  of  this  church  there 
was  only  one  communicant  in  town.  With  so  unpromising  a  beginning  the 
Holy  Trinity  Episcopal  church  of  Danville  has  grown  into  a  flourishing  in- 
stitution which  spared  the  number  of  communicants  that  swarmed  from  the 
hive,  forming  the  St.  Marks  church.  The  Holy  Trinity  church  is  pleasantly 
housed  in  a  small  but  very  pleasing  church  on  North  Vermilion  street.  The 
church  is  as  pleasingly  furnished  on  the  interior  as  on  the  outside,  and  shows 
good  taste  in  every  part  of  its  building.  Father  Rochstroh  has  been  the 
loved  rector.  St.  Mark's  church  was  organized  in  1908.  Their  building  is  lo- 
cated in  the  northern  part  of  Danville.  A  rectory  was  bought  and  service  held 
in  it  while  the  building  was  in  course  of  construction. 

The  policy  of  the  Romish  church  is  concentration.  So  it  is  there  is  no  use 
in  looking  for  this  church  in  every  village,  while  the  great  churches  in  a  city 
are  always  of  the  Roman  Catholic  denomination.  Danville  has  two  Roman 
Catholic  churches  and  they  are  both  in  the  same  part  of  town,  and  at  the 
opposite  end  of  Danville  from  where  the  largest  church  was  organized.  It  was 
in  1852  that  Father  Ryan  held  service  in  the  northwest  of  Danville  at  near 
what  was  the  then  I.  B.  and  W.  railroad  bridge.  In  1858  they  built  the  first 
brick  church,  located  on  Chestnut  near  Elizabeth  street.  The  cost  of  this  building 
was  about  $1,500.  The  first  priest  was  Father  Lambert,  and  the  first  bishop 
who  ever  preached  in  Danville  was  Bishop  Foley  of  Chicago.  The  congregation 
outgrew  the  church  building  by  1880,  and  another  was  put  up  on  east  Main  street. 

The  Catholic  churches  in  Danville  have  been  organized  by  nationality.  The 
largest  church  was  what  was  called  the  Irish  Catholic  and  the  other  is  the 
German  Catholic  church.  The  Irish  Catholic  church  has  included  Americans, 
while  the  service  in  the  German  church  has  been  in  a  strange  tongue  for  the  con- 
venience of  those  from  Germany,  who  have  come  to  America.  This  church  is 
located  at  the  corner  of  Green  and  College  streets.  It  was  built  in  1863. 
Previous  to  that  date  the  congregation  held  service  in  the  other  Catholic  church. 
This  building  was  put  up  at  a  cost  of  $4,570,  and  was  formally  dedicated  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  355 

Rt.  Rev.  John  W.  Luers,  bishop  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  first  priest  in  charge  was 
Rev.  A.  M.  Reck.  This  church  is  responsible  for  the  St.  Elizabeth  Hospital, 
which  is  considered  more  at  length  in  the  chapter  that  includes  this  subject. 
The  Germans  have  other  churches  in  Danville. 

The  German  Lutheran  church  is  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  city.  The  first 
service  of  this  denomination  was  held  in  November,  1862  at  the  house  of  J. 
Hacker.  These  meetings  were  continued  from  time  to  time  until  in  February 
of  the  following  year  it  was  decided  to  organize  a  church.  In  1865  they  built 
a  church  and  established  a  day  school  in  which  the  elementary  branches  were 
to  be  taught  together  with  the  peculiar  tenets  of  their  religion.  In  1857  Rev. 
G.  Keiser  was  engaged  in  the  Marshall  Mission.  His  field  included  Marshall, 
Paris  and  Clarksville.  He  was  the  first  one  to  be  invited  to  come  to  Danville 
to  preach  to  the  Germans.  He  went  from  house  to  house  of  the  Germans  and 
ask  them  to  go  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Jacob  Shatz  for  a  meeting.  From  the  time 
of  this  first  meeting  Danville  was  considered  as  a  regular  appointment.  In  the 
course  of  time  they  built  the  brick  church  at  the  corner  of  Madison  and  Jack- 
son streets.  This  was  the  second  church  they  had  built.  It  was  dedicated  on 
Sunday,  November  30,  by  Dr.  Fowler,  then  president  of  the  Northwestern 
University. 

In  1862  the  German  United  Brethern  in  Christ,  built  them  a  church  at  a 
cost  of  $600,  but  later  built  a  larger  one  at  a  cost  of  $3,033.  This  church  had 
been  organized  some  time  before  any  steps  were  taken  to  build  a  house  of 
worship.  The  first  preaching  service  held  by  the  U.  B.  church  was  in  the  old 
German  church  in  1870.  A  church  was  built  in  the  following  year.  Four  years 
later  this  building  was  taken  down  and  removed  to  North  Vermilion  street, 
where  a  better  one  was  erected.  The  Welsh  Independent  church  was  organ- 
ized in  South  Danville,  March  10,  1872.  They  bought  the  building  formerly 
used  and  owned  by  the  U.  B.  church.  The  former  society  disbanded  and 
had  no  use  for  the  building. 

FRIENDS  IN  VERMILION  COUNTY. 
(CONTRIBUTED  BY  BERTRAM   REES.) 

A  society  which  has  doubtless  been  the  greatest  factor  in  the  development 
of  Vermilion  County,  in  the  southern  part  of  it  is  the  Quakers  or  Friends.  The 
Society  of  Friends  was  early  established  and  from  the  very  first  start  of  the 
county  its  influence  has  been  felt.  Vermilion  County,  "Past  and  Present,"  con- 
tains a  sketch  of  these  peculiar  people  which  is  worth  copying  in  full.  It  must 
be  known  that  while  the  customs  of  the  people  are  apparently  being  lost,  there 
are  many  of  even  the  younger  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  cling  to 
its  belief  and  ways  of  doing. 

A  wedding  in  which  the  two  contracting  parties  were  members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  took  place  but  the  other  day  in  this  community.  The  two 
young  people  made  known  to  their  respective  monthly  meetings  their  intention 
to  marry.  The  matter  was  gone  over  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  monthly 
meetings,  and  a  favorable  report  returned.  The  two  then  proceeded  about  the 
matter.  There  were  no  flowers  at  this  wedding,  no  decorations  of  any  kind. 


356  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  bridal  party,  which  consisted  of  the  bride,  the  bridegroom  and  four  attend- 
ants, took  their  places  on  the  front  seats  in  the  church,  and  after  almost  an 
hour  spent  in  almost  absolute  silence,  they  arose  and  repeated  the  ceremony, 
no  preacher  being  required.  The  marriage  certificate  was  signed  by  a  number 
of  prominent  Friends  in  the  congregation  and  will  be  placed  on  the  records  in 
the  county.  Immediately  after  the  ceremony,  the  bridal  party  went  to  their 
home,  where  there  was  a  well  furnished  house  and  dinner  was  served.  The 
ceremony  is  a  beautiful  and  impressive  one,  and  must  be  rehearsed  until  both 
are  perfectly  acquainted  with  all  the  requirements  of  it.  All  the  young  people 
of  this  society  do  not  insist  upon  this  quaint  old  ceremony,  but  many  yet  do 
use  it. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Friends  or  Quakers  in  the 
east  and  south  became  dissatisfied  with  their  surroundings  and  began  an  exodus 
north  and  westward.  The  reason  for  this  movement  was  probably  twofold : 
first,  to  get  away  from  slavery,  which  was  very  distasteful  to  them  and  which 
they  considered  a  very  wrong  and  vile  business  besides  being  contrary  to  their 
church  creed ;  second,  having  never  been  very  prosperous  in  the  rocky  and 
mountainous  regions  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee,  they  determined  to  establish 
themselves  in  a  more  fertile  and  productive  region  where  they  could  build  for 
themselves  a  religious  and  educational  community  according  to  their  own  ideas 
and  beliefs.  Ohio  and  Indiana  received  a  great  number  of  these  emigrants, 
some  of  which  being  still  dissatisfied,  pushed  farther  west  and  settled  in  the 
fertile  plains  of  Vermilion  County,  Illinois,  near  what  is  now  Vermilion  Grove. 
This  was  soon  after  the  grand  old  Prairie  state  had  been  admitted  to  state- 
hood, and  since  that  time  many  communities  and  meetings  have  sprung  up 
around  this  place. 

The  first  of  these  settlers  came  by  way  of  Indiana  from  Jefferson  County, 
Tennessee,  arriving  at  Vermilion  Grove  in  1822.  Among  the  first  families 
were  those  of  John  Haworth,  Henry  Canaday  and  John  Mills,  John  Haworth 
settled  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Academy  Farm,  which  was  donated  to 
that  institution  by  his  son,  Elvin  Haworth,  some  years  ago.  On  this  farm  was 
located  a  rude  log  hut,  in  which  the  first  meetings  for  worship  were  held  soon 
after  the  settlement  was  made.  Henry  Canaday  settled  on  what  is  known  as 
the  R.  H.  Canaday  farm,  one-half  mile  west  of  the  Grove.  Henry  Canaday 
was  the  first  man  to  be  appointed  to  the  position  as  head  of  the  meeting,  a 
place  of  great  importance  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  Friends  church  at  that 
early  day. 

John  Mills  settled  on  what  is  known  as  the  old  Mills  homestead,  two  miles 
west  of  the  station  near  where  Richard  Mills  now  lives.  The  country  was 
wild  prairie  and  timber  lands  at  that  time.  Foxes  and  wolves  were  plentiful, 
and  wild  turkeys  and  prairie  chickens  furnished  much  food  for  the  settlers. 
Indians,  wild  and  fierce,  still  roamed  over  the  prairie  and  timber  lands  and 
hunted  the  bison  and  deer  and  fished  unmolested  along  the  little  streams.  No 
roads  were  seen  except  the  hunter's  path.  No  bridges  crossed  the  sluggish 
streams.  No  fences  bound  the  traveler's  way,  but  nature  held  complete  con- 
trol and  seemed  to  battle  hard  against  invasions  made  by  human  hands.  Ague 
and  fever  proved  dreadful  foes  and  pestilence  made  havoc  among  the  little 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  357 

band,  but  push  and  perseverance  which  those  early  settlers  possessed  and 
which  has  been  a  predominant  characteristic  of  their  descendants,  soon  made 
the  wild  and  barren  lands  "to  blossom  like  the  rose"  and  produce  abundant 
crops.  Ponds  were  drained,  the  land  was  cleared,  roads  were  laid  out,  and 
soon  the  country  assumed  the  appearance  of  civilization. 

Following  the  first  settlers,  or  families,  came  the  Hendersons,  in  1824,  and 
the  Reeses  in  1830,  and  Hesters  and  Mendenhalls  about  the  same  time.  Others 
whose  names  are  not  mentioned  came  early  and  helped  to  make  up  the  neigh- 
borhood and  subdue  the  wild  country.  The  first  "meeting  house"  was  built 
in  1823  in  the  north  end  of  what  is  now  Vermilion  cemetery.  It  was  built 
of  huge  walnut  logs,  measuring  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diameter.  The  roof 
was  clapboards  and  the  seats  were  hewn  logs.  It  was  here  in  this  rude  house 
that  Friends  for  miles  around  came  together  regularly,  twice  a  week  for  twenty- 
nine  years  to  worship  God  and  study  of  Him  out  of  His  word.  At  the  end 
of  this  time,  or  in  1853,  the  first  frame  house  was  built  near  where  the  log 
one  stood.  This  house  had  many  more  accommodations,  but  still  the  conven- 
iences were  very  meager  compared  with  a  modern  church.  The  first  branch 
meeting  was  established  at  Elwood,  at  which  place  a  log  house  was  built  about 
1830.  This  cabin  served  as  a  church  until  1846,  when  a  frame  house  with  a 
stone  foundation  was  built. 

The  next  meeting  set  up  was  at  Hopewell  and  a  house  was  built  in  1848, 
and  then  at  Pilot  Grove  about  the  same  year.  Ridge  Farm,  Carol  and  Georgetown 
meetings  were  established  later.  Sabbath  schools  were  early  established  in 
all  the  meetings  and  reading  and  spelling  were  the  branches  taught.  Later  the 
Bible  became  the  text-book.  The  quarterly  meeting  was  begun  in  1863  in  that 
memorable  year  of  the  Civil  war.  The  Vermilion  meeting  house  being  too 
small  for  the  accommodation  of  the  crowds  that  gathered  at  these  times,  was 
enlarged  the  same  year  and  stood  as  a  landmark  for  all  the  country  around, 
until  its  place  was  taken  by  the  splendid  new  brick  structure  which  was  built 
in  1884. 

The  quarterly  meeting  is  now  composed  of  eight  monthly  meetings  with  a 
total  membership  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  members.  All  of  these  meet- 
ings are  not  in  Vermilion  County,  but  all  have  sprung  from  this  central  point. 

Friends  have  always  believed  in  education  as  a  means  of  uplifting  humanity, 
and  provisions  were  early  made  for  schools.  The  first  school  was  a  subscrip- 
tion school  taught  by  Reuben  Black,  who  came  from  Ohio,  in  1824-5.  It 
was  in  a  log  house  one  mile  west  of  Vermilion  Grove.  There  were  fourteen 
children  on  roll  and  the  branches  taught  were  reading,  writing  and  spelling. 
Among  others  whose  names  are  mentioned  as  early  teachers  were  Elijah  Yea- 
ger,  Henry  Fletcher  and  Elisha  Hobbs.  In  1849  the  people  got  up  a  subscrip- 
tion to  build  a  new  house,  but  could  not  raise  the  money,  so  David  and  Elvin 
Haworth  and  William  Canaday  with  the  help  of  some  others,  built  what  was 
called  Vermilion  Seminary,  in  1850,  a  building  thirty  by  fifty-two,  with  two 
recitation  rooms  and  supplied  with  proper  desks  and  furniture.  They  employed 
J.  M.  Davis  as  principal  and  school  opened  with  one  hundred  and  ten  students. 
This  school  continued  for  many  years  and  prospered.  The  standard  of  educa- 
tion was  held  high,  and  as  a  result  the  Academy  was  founded  in  1874.  This 


358  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

was  really  a  continuation  of  the  old  seminary,  which  disappeared  with  the 
advent  of  free  schools.  The  present  two-story  brick  building  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  eight  thousand  dollars.  A  peoples'  endowment  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars was  raised.  William  Rees,  John  Henderson,  Richard  Mendenhall,  John 
Elliott,  Jonah  M.  Davis  and  Elvin  Haworth  were  the  first  board  of  trustees. 
Edwin  Harney  was  first  principal.  The  school  is  under  control  of  Vermilion 
quarterly  meeting  of  Friends  church,  but  it  is  not  sectarian.  The  location  of 
the  academy  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  in  a  natural  grove  of  three  acres  which 
was  donated  to  the  school  by  Thomas  Hester,  father  of  the  late  William  Hester. 
Other  liberal  donations  have  been  made  to  the  institution,  among  which  was 
the  donation  by  Elvin  Haworth  of  all  his  property,  including  a  splendid  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  close  by.  A  movement  is  on  foot  at 
the  present  to  increase  the  endowment  ten  thousand  dollars  more,  which  if 
accomplished,  will  put  the  school  on  a  splendid  financial  basis.  The  quarterly 
meeting  is  proud  of  her  school  and  liberally  patronizes  the  institution. 

Such  is  the  history  of  Friends  from  their  beginning  in  Elwood  township 
and  Vermilion  township  and  Vermilion  County.  Many  points  of  interest  are 
necessarily  omitted,  but  we  feel  sure  that  the  points  mentioned  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  many. 


CHARLES   W.   WARNER 


WILLIAM  R.  JEWELL 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
THE  VERMILION  COUNTY  PRESS. 

The  first  paper  published  in  Vermilion  County  was  printed  at  Danville,  in 
1832.  It  was  started  by  Mr.  Williams  and  R.  H.  Bryant.  It  was  a  democratic 
organ.  This  paper  was  supported  for  a  few  years  and  then  Mr.  Williams  sold 
to  Bryant  who  took  in  Mr.  Loveless  as  a  partner.  Later  he  sold  to  Mr.  Delay. 
After  a  while  Mr.  Bryant  bought  it  back  and  moved  the  paper  to  Milwaukee, 
Wis. 

The  Danville  News  was  established  in  1873,  and  in  1874  passed  under  the 
control  of  the  Illinois  Printing  Company.  It  was  issued  as  a  weekly  paper 
for  two  years  when  the  daily  edition  was  established.  The  daily  News  was  in 
continuous  existence  until  it  was  consolidated  with  the  Commercial  in  June,  1893: 
Mr.  W.  R.  Jewell  was  editor  of  the  paper  during  these  twenty  years. 

The  Danville  Weekly  Post  was  established  in  Danville  in  1878,  by  Jacobs  & 
Thompson.  It  was  the  only  democratic  paper  in  the  county  for  some  time  and 
had  a  large  circulation.  The  Danville  Commercial  was  established  in  1879  by 
the  banking  and  real  estate  firm  of  Short  &  Wright.  The  editor  of  this  paper 
was  P.  D.  Hammond.  In  1867  Mr.  J.  G.  Kingsbury  became  the  editorial  asso- 
ciate of  Mr.  Hammond.  At  that  same  date  Mr.  Wright  retired  from  the  firm 
and  Abraham  Sandushy  and  Andrew  Gundy  went  into  the  firm  thereafter  to  be 
known  as  John  C.  Short  &  Co.  The  Plaindealer  was  another  paper  previously  es- 
tablished which  the  Commercial  bought  in  1867.  In  a  short  time  the  name  of  Plain- 
dealer  was  dropped  from  the  title  of  the  paper  it  being  merged  into  the  Commercial. 

In  1878  the  Danville  Times  which  had  hitherto  been  a  bright  paper  under  the 
management  of  A.  G.  Smith  was  merged  into  the  Commercial  and  from  that  time 
the  Daily  Danville  Commercial  was  a  paper  of  the  county  until  in  1893  when  it 
was  consolidated  with  the  Danville  News  and  has  since  been  known  as  the 
Commercial  News. 

The  Danville  Press  was  established  in  1885  and  was  the  organ  of  the 
democratic  party  in  Vermilion  County  for  years,  or  until  the  split  in  the  ranks 
of  that  party  made  another  paper  expedient.  The  Danville  Democrat  was  then 
established  in  1898  and  soon  became  the  paper  most  popular  because  of  its 
worth  without  regard  to  its  political  bias.  In  1907  these  two  papers  were  con- 
solidated and  now  the  organ  of  the  democratic  party  is  the  Press  Democrat. 

In  1873  the  Rossville  Observer  was  established  by  Mr.  Moore.  It  was  re- 
publican at  first  but  in  1876  went  with  the  Greenback  cause.  Mr.  Moore  continued 

359 


360  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

its  publication  for  three  years  and  then  went  to  Champaign.  In  1876  Mr. 
Cromer  commenced  the  publication  of  the  "Enterprise,"  a  republican  paper, 
and  continued  it  for  nearly  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Homer.  The  Marys- 
ville  Independent  was  established  in  1876  by  Ben  Biddlecome.  It  was  a  six 
column  folio,  independent  in  politics  and  religion,  devoted  to  the  news  of  the 
day  and  was  well  sustained  by  the  business  men.  This  paper  was  conducted  in 
Vermilion  County  but  a  short  time,  however,  when  it  was  removed  to  Bement. 

The  Hoopeston  Chronicle  has  been  a  force  in  all  matters  of  Vermilion 
County.  It  was  established  by  Dale  Wallace  before  there  was  a  business  house 
finished  in  Hoopeston  and  by  its  spirit,  pluck  and  literary  merit  did  more  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  Hoopeston  than  ever  can  be  estimated.  The  Hoopeston 
Chronicle  was  established  by  Mr.  Wallace  and  G.  W.  Seaveyon,  January  i, 
1872.  They  sold  out  to  L.  F.  Watson  on  the  first  of  January,  1877,  and  on 
July  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Wallace  came  into  control  of  it  again  as  sole  owner. 
Mr.  Wallace  showed  his  courage  while  managing  the  Chronicle  to  edit  a  racy, 
newsy  and  pungent  paper  which  never  showed  any  halting  support  nor  timid 
opposition  to  any  measure.  The  Hoopeston  Chronicle  has  been  a  power  since 
it  was  first  established.  It  has  lost  none  of  its  popularity  under  the  many  re- 
cent years'  management  of  Mr.  Charles  W.  Warner.  Mr.  Warner  bought  the 
Hoopeston  Chronicle  July  i,  1882.  The  list  of  papers  published  at  present  in 
Vermilion  County  is  a  long  one  but  there  is  not  one  of  these  which  outshines 
the  Hoopeston  Chronicle. 

The  "National  Anti-Monopoly  Journal"  was  established  by  J.  M.  Clark  in 
1880.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  "Journal,"  the  "Sentinel,"  the  "News,"  and  finally 
by  the  "Herald,"  under  different  managements,  and  is  now  published  by  Mrs. 
Jennie  R.  Deatrich  and  her  daughter,  Miss  Natalie  Deatrich. 

The  Rossville  "Observer"  was  established  by  J.  H.  Moore  I  think  in  1872, 
but  was  discontinued  about  six  years  later. 

The  Rossville  "Enterprise"  was  established  by  John  C.  Cromer  early  in  1876 
and  was  moved  to  Homer,  Champaign  County,  about  the  first  of  October,  1877, 
where  it  is  still  published. 

The  Rossville  "Press"  was  established  by  Frank  J.  ("Tony")  Pasteur  in 
1879.  It  nas  h'ved  and  has  been  consolidated  with  other  papers  in  Rossville 
several  times  under  several  different  managements,  and  is  now  published  by 
Bert  E.  Pinkerton. 

The  publishers  for  Rossville  are  J.  H.  Moore,  John  C.  Cromer,  Frank  J. 
Pasteur,  George  Stout,  W.  H.  Soden,  Will  S.  Dill,  J.  Gus  Lane,  William  A. 
Hackman,  Perry  M.  Warner,  Ed  White  and  Bert  E.  Pinkerton. 

The  Hoopeston  publishers,  aside  from  those  connected  with  the  Chronicle, 
are  J.  M.  Clark,  Billie  Spence,  Haven  M.  Haff,  William  Fleming,  Charles  P. 
Huey,  William  M.  Mathis,  George  R.  Deatrich,  Cooper  &  Green,  Lewis  A. 
Smith,  S.  A.  Barnes,  E.  Eugene  Arter,  J.  J.  Pittser,  Mrs.  Jennie  R.  Deatrich. 

The  papers  published  in  Danville  at  this  time  are  beside  those  already  men- 
tioned: Danville  Banner  (prohibition  organ),  Danville  Record,  Deutsche, 
Zeitung,  and  the  Echo  (colored  people's  organ). 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
TRANSPORTATION   IN   VERMILION   COUNTY. 

STAGE-COACH    LINES — RAILROADS TRACTION    SYSTEM. 

Earliest  means  of  travel  through  the  county  was  by  way  of  the  stage-coach. 
These  lines  were  established  to  accommodate  passengers  from  one  point  to  the 
other,  who  otherwise  would  have  to  go  on  horseback,  as  well  as  to  carry  the 
United  States  mail.  These  stage-coach  lines  followed  the  state  roads  north  and 
south  and  east  and  west.  The  mails  were  carried  three  times  a  week  and, 
previous  to  the  established  stage-coach  lines,  were  taken  on  horseback.  The 
old  Fort  Clark  road,  or  as  it  had  been  later  by  its  changed  direction,  become 
the  Danville  and  Urbana  road,  was  the  course  of  the  east  and  west  line  of 
stage-coaches.  The  north  and  south  line  was  on  the  old  Chicago  and  Vin- 
cennes  highway,  which  was  changed  from  its  original  course  in  1849.  This 
relocation  was  made  beginning  at  the  south  side  of  North  Fork  at  Gilbert's 
ford,  according  to  the  following  field  notes  of  the  surveyor:  (i)  S.  20  E.  1,750 
to  Coon's  Corner;  (2)  S.  8  E.  2,000  to  Messick's  Corner;  (3)  south  6,500  on 
line  to  road.  John  Demerst  and  Alvan  Gilbert  were  road  viewers  at  that  time. 
It  was  in  1832  that  a  postal  route  was  established  from  Chicago  via  Danville 
to  Vincennes,  and  four  years  later  the  one  from  Danville  to  Springfield  by 
way  of  Decattir.  This  same  year,  1836,  the  third  postal  route,  the  one  from 
Danville  to  Ottawa,  was  opened.  This  was  the  year  that  shows  greatest  in- 
terest in  postal  routes,  since  it  records  not  only  the  one  from  Danville  to 
Springfield,  the  one  from  Danville  to  Ottawa,  but  yet  another,  the  one  from 
Indianapolis  by  way  of  Danville  (Indiana)  Rockville,  Montezuma,  and  New- 
port to  Danville,  Illinois. 

A  few  years  later  another  mail  route  from  Springfield  to  La  Fayette  was 
established  by  way  of  Danville.  These  routes  were  used  by  the  people  of  Ver- 
milion County  to  not  only  send  and  receive  their  mail,  but  along  which  they 
went  when  occasion  demanded,  and  these  were  the  roads  which  were  used  by 
newcomers  into  this  part  of  the  new  west.  It  was  along  these  roads  that  all 
communication  with  the  outside  world  was  made.  The  eastern  limits  of  the 
county  was  several  miles  from  the  Wabash  river,  and  when  travel  along  the 
waterways  was  made,  these  intervening  miles  had  to  be  covered  either  by  horse- 
back, in  a  wagon,  or  by  foot. 

There  was  a  line  of  boats  from  Cincinnati  direct  to  Perrysville  and  Cov- 
ington,  and  which  could,  in  high  water,  hope  to  reach  La  Fayette,  in  Indiana; 

361 


362  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

but  those  living  in  Vermilion  County  were  obliged  to  take  their  products  to 
these  river  towns  and  haul  all  merchandise  and  other  commodities  back.  The 
whole  country  as  far  west  as  the  Sangamon  was  thus  made  tributary  to,  and 
wholly  dependent  upon  La  Fayette,  Attica,  Covington,  Perrysville  and  Eugene 
for  their  supplies.  It  was  not  until  the  railroads  were  built  that  this  section 
was  released  from  dependence  upon  the  Wabash  river  and  the  canal  which 
ran  alongside  of  it,  that  Vermilion  County  had  a  chance  to  develop,  equal  if 
not  superior,  to  these  river  towns.  To  overcome  this  handicap  of  being  back 
from  the  Wabash  river,  the  people  of  Vermilion  County  tried  to  slack-water 
the  Vermilion  river  and  make  it  navigable  to  its  mouth.  Failing  in  this,  they, 
in  company  with  citizens  of  other  counties,  petitioned  congress  as  early  as  1831 
to  grant  a  strip  of  land  from  Vincennes  to  Chicago,  on  which  to  construct  a 
railway. 

The  outcome  of  this  was  the  charter  secured  in  1835  for  the  Chicago  & 
Vincennes  Railway.  Among  the  charter  members  of  this,  appear  the  names 
of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  (who  had  a  few  years  before  this  taken  up  his  residence 
in  Chicago),  John  H.  Murphy,  and  Isaac  R.  Moore,  of  Danville.  This  "was 
the  first  attempt  at  building  a  rival  to  the  stage-coach,  and  it  was,  for  the 
time  being,  a  failure. 

The  first  competition  the  stage-coach  line  had  was  in  the  completion  of  the 
Wabash  Railroad,  in  1856.  Even  then,  however,  the  coach  was  not  abandoned, 
for  the  steam  car  covered  but  a  comparatively  small  portion  of  the  territory  to 
which  the  United  States  mail  was  carried.  The  Wabash  Railroad  was  the 
first  steam  motor  for  crossing  Vermilion  County  and  now,  so  extensive  has 
become  the  railroad  in  this  section,  that  there  is  not  a  township  out  of  the 
seventeen,  that  is  not  touched  by  one,  and  in  several  there  are  two  or  three. 
The  county  is  almost  fifty  miles  long  and  twenty-five  miles  wide,  and  in  view 
of  the  immense  territory  it  covers,  it  is  remarkable  and  fortunate  that  every 
township  should  be  traversed  by  a  steam  highway 

Pilot,  Blount  and  Jamaica  townships  have  the  poorest  railroad  accommo- 
dations, the  Rossville-Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  merely  clipping  off  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  former,  and  the  southeast  corner  of  the  latter,  leaving 
the  greater  body  of  these  townships  without  railroad  facilities ;  yet  the  towns 
in  Jamaica,  in  Blount,  and  Collison  in  Pilot,  are  thriving  little  villages,  and 
are  good  grain  and  stock  points,  thus  giving  the  farmers  of  these  townships 
fair  outlets  for  their  produce.  Beginning  with  Butler  township,  in  the  extreme 
northwest  part  of  the  county,  there  are  two  railroads ;  they  being  the  L.  E. 
&  W.,  and  the  Chicago-St.  Louis  division  of  the  "Frisco."  Both  of  these  pass 
almost  through  the  heart  of  the  township — one  east  and  west,  and  the  other 
northeast  and  southwest.  Grant  township  has  three  railroads :  the  main  line 
of  the  C.  &  E.  L,  the  Chicago  Southern,  and  the  L.  E.  &  W. 

Ross  township  has  practically  five  railroads.  They  are  the  main  line  of 
the  C.  &  E.  I.,  the  Rossville-Sidell  and  Judyville  branches  of  the  road,'  the 
Chicago  Southern,  and  the  West  Lebanon-Leroy  branch  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral. The  east  side  of  the  township,  which  runs  along  the  border  of  Indiana, 
is  also  tributary  to  the  Chicago,  Indiana  &  Southern,  a  division  of  the  Big 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  363 

Four.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  township  is  especially  favored  with  rail- 
roads. Newell  township  is  also  well  favored  with  railroads,  being  penetrated 
by  the  main  line  of  the  C.  &  E.  L,  the  Walsh  road,  the  Chicago,  Indiana  & 
Southern  and  the  Wabash.  There  is  also  a  freight  road  running  from  Bis- 
marck to  Brewer,  this  being  a  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I. 

Middle  Fork  township  has  two  railroads,  the  West  Lebanon  branch  of  the 
Central,  and  the  Chicago-St.  Louis  division  of  the  "Frisco."  Oakwood  town- 
ship has  two  railroads,  and  the  main  line  of  the  Illinois  Traction  system.  The 
Peoria  division  of  the  Big  Four  passes  through  the  township  from  east  to 
west,  as  does  the  traction  line,  while  the  Rossville-Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  & 
E.  I.  runs  through  north  and  south.  Vance  township  has  two  roads — the^Wa- 
bash  and  the  Rossville-Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  The  latter  road  'split- 
ting the  line  between  Vance  and  Catlin,  can  be  claimed  by  both. 

Catlin  township  has  three  railroads,  counting  the  road  from  Rossville  to 
Sidell,  and  the  trolley  line.  The  Wabash  angles  through  the  township  from 
the  northeast  to  the  south  and  west,  while  the  Danville-Villa  Grove  division  of 
the  C.  &  E.  I.  cuts  off  the  southeast  corner.  Carroll  township  has  the  Danville- 
Villa 'Grove  division  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.,  and  is  also  touched  by  the  Rossville- 
Sidell  branch  of  the  same  line,  making  it  tributary  to  two  roads.  Sidell  town- 
ship has  three  railroads,  counting  both  divisions  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  and  the 
Sidell  and  Olney  branch  of  the  C.  H.  &  D. 

Georgetown  township  has  two  steam  and  one  trolley  line.  The  Cairo  divi- 
sion of  the  Big  Four  passes  through  the  heart  of  the  township,  and  the  Dan- 
ville-Villa Grove  division  cuts  off  the  northeast  corner  of  the  same.  Elwood 
township  has  the  Cairo  division  of  the  Big  Four,  the  Clover  Leaf,  and  the 
Illinois  Traction  System's  lines.  Love  township,  in  the  extreme  southeast  cor- 
ner of  the  county,  has  the  Clover  Leaf,  which  passes  through  the  center  of  it. 

As  every  one  of  these  railroads  center  in  Danville,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Clover  Leaf,  in  the  extreme  south  end  of  the  county,  the  Lake  Erie  West- 
ern, in  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  county,  the  West  Lebanon-Leroy  branch 
of  the  Illinois  Central,  the  Rossville-Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.,  and  the 
Chicago-St.  Louis  division  of  the  C.  &  E.  L,  it  will  be  seen  that  Danville  town- 
ship is  literally  a  network  of  railroads.  Although  the  first  railroad  chartered 
in  the  limits  of  Vermilion  County  was  the  Chicago  &  Vincennes  Railway,  this 
road  was  never  built,  and  it  was  not  until  1871  that  there  was  a  railroad  con- 
nection' through  the  county  with  Chicago. 

In  1835,  the  same  year  that  the  charter  was  secured  for  the  Chicago  & 
Viricennes  Railway,  one  was  projected  from  Quincy,  on  the  Mississippi  river 
across  the  state  of  Illinois,  to  the  Indiana  state  line  in  the  direction  of  La  Fay- 
ette.  This  road  was  to  be  built  through  Springfield,  Decatur  and  Danville,  and 
was  to  be  known  as  the  Northern  Cross  Railroad.  It  is  the  road  afterward 
known  as  the  Wabash. 

This  plan  to  build  a  railroad  across  the  state  was  but  a  part  of  the  great 
internal  improvement  scheme  which  bankrupted  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  be- 
fore it  could  possibly  be  carried  out  had,  of  necessity,  to  be  abandoned.  The 
craze  for  internal  improvements,  marking  these  years,  seems  almost  incredible, 
and  has  gone  down  in  history  as  without  parallel.  It  has  been  estimated  that 


364  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

the  expense  involved  for  all  the  proposed  improvements  was  $10,000,000.  but 
many  writers  state  that  that  sum  does  not  nearly  cover  the  real  expenses. 

Dr.  Fithian  was  the  representative  from  Vermilion  County  in  the  legisla- 
ture at  this  time,  and  he  was  a  man  of  rare  ability.  He  frankly  predicted  the 
financial  ruin  that  would  surely  overwhelm  the  state  if  the  legislature  persisted 
in  its  wild  scheme  of  general  internal  improvements.  When  he  saw  that  he 
could  not  prevent  the  plan  from  being  carried  into  effect,  and  that  the  public 
money  was  going  to  be  wasted  anyway,  he  turned  the  matter  so  that  his  county 
might  profit  by  the  conditions,  and  managed  that  work  should  begin  at  once 
on  that  part  of  the  Northern  Cross  Railroad  which  ran  through  Vermilion 
County. 

Accordingly,  a  large  portion  of  the  $1,800,000  appropriated  for  the  North- 
ern Cross  Railroad  was  expended  in  1837.  38  and  39,  in  grading  the  road- 
bed from  the  Champaign  County  line  east  to  the  Vermilion,  and  in  the  heavy 
cuts  and  fills  adjacent  to  that  stream,  and  in  erecting  the  three  large  abutments 
of  piers  standing  in  or  near  the  river  itself.  Thus  the  heaviest  and  most  ex- 
pensive part  of  the  road,  east  of  the  Sangamon  was  practically  finished  before 
the  crash  came,  which  put  an  end  to  the  "system."  The  road  remained  in  this 
shape  until  in  1853,  when  the  plan  to  extend  it  from  Decatur  east  across  the 
state  was  formed.  The  heavy  work  previously  done  in  Vermilion  County  was 
too  valuable  to  be  thrown  away.  Another  fact  helped  develop  the  road.  An- 
other corporation  was  building  a  line  up  the  Maumee  and  down  the  Wabash 
rivers.  The  projectors  had  originally  intended  keeping  down  the  east  side 
of  the  Wabash  through  Covington,  making  their  connection  with  St.  Louis  by 
way  of  Paris.  The  people  of  the  towns  along  the  Wabash  river,  had,  at  the 
time  of  the  first  planning  of  the  Northern  Cross  railroad,  or  rather  the  Great 
Western  railroad  as  it  was  later  called,  been  very  much  encouraged  with  a 
prospect  of  having  this  road  extended  into  Indiana  to  reach  this  important 
waterway.  James  Alexander,  of  Paris,  succeeded  in  having  a  bill  passed,  the 
Indiana  legislature  of  1838 — authorizing  the  extension  of  the  road  into  that 
state.  This  was  no  sooner  done  than  a  fight  arose  to  secure  the  road  to  Cov- 
ington and  to  Perrysville.  Thanks  to  the  prompt  action  of  Dr.  Hamilton  of 
Covington,  aided  by  secret  information  given  him  by  Mr.  Alexander,  a  rival 
town  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  was  not  located  even  though  the  much  de- 
sired railroad  did  not  come  in  that  direction. 

When  the  Wabash  railroad,  as  the  new  project  was  called,  planned  to  go 
down  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wabash  river  below  Attica  to  make  the  crossing, 
there  was  another  hope  for  a  railroad  going  to  this,  at  that  time,  important 
town.  But  when  the  projectors  of  the  new  road  from  the  east  learned  of 
the  speedy  completion  of  the  Great  Western  road  from  Decatur  to  Danville, 
they  changed  their  plans.  They  crossed  the  Wabash  river  at  Attica,  and  made 
Danville  its  terminal  point.  They  operated  the  section  between  Danville  and 
the  state  line  for  a  time,  but  at  last  withdrew  and  compelled  the  Great  Western 
to  follow  them  to  that  point.  This  was  after  the  two  corporations  had  a  dis- 
agreement about  some  trivial  thing.  Matters  remained  in  this  shape  for  eight 
years,  until  the  consolidation  of  the  two  roads  in  1865  when  Danville  once  more 
became  the  end  of  a  running  division.  The  first  engine  that  ever  ran  into 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  365 

Danville  was  called  the  Pioneer.  It  crossed  the  bridge  over  the  Vermilion 
river  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  1856.  The  second  railroad  crossing  Ver- 
milion County  was  the  Danville,  Urbana,  Bloomington  &  Pekin,  and  it  was 
compkted  in  January,  1870.  Trains  ran  from  Danville  to  Pekin  for  nine  months, 
before  the  gap  between  Crawfordsville  and  Danville  was  closed  by  the  exten- 
tion  of  the  Indianapolis,  Crawfordsville  &  Danville,  and  made  a  road  east  and  west 
through  the  county.  This  I.  C.  &  D.  road  was  extended  as  far  west  as  Craw- 
fordsville, late  in  the  year  1869.  The  connection  of  the  rails  was  made  on 
the  prairie  some  eight  miles  east  of  Danville  in  September,  1870,  and  through 
trains  were  put  on  the  road  shortly  afterward. 

The  C.  &  E.  I.  railroad  was  built  and  trains  running  in  1871.  The  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Vermilion  county  had  long  felt  the  necessity  of  a  direct  con- 
nection for  travel  and  commercial  purposes  with  Chicago,  and  to  this  end,  in 
1868,  secured  a  bill  from  the  legislature  authorizing  the  townships  through 
which  it  was  to  run,  to  vote  bonds  in  aid  of  its  construction.  Among  the 
prominent  ones  in  Vermilion  County  interested  in  this  project,  were  John  L. 
Tincher,  H.  W.  Beckwith,  and  Alvan  Gilbert.  It  was  through  Mr.  Tincher's 
influence  that  the  charter  was  obtained.  The  people  generally  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county,  at  least,  were  anxious  for  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 
Danville  township  voted  $72,000  for  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  $75,000 
for  the  erection  of  the  car  shops,  which  are  located  at  Danville.  Ross  town- 
ship voted  $24,000  and  Grant  township  voted  $18,000.  J.  E.  Young  of  Chi- 
cago, was  the  contractor,  and  built  the  road.  The  road  was  originally  bonded 
for  $5,000,000  which  represents  the  supposed  value  at  that  time.  In  1874,  the 
company  failed,  and  the  property  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  in 
the  person  of  Gen.  A.  Anderson,  who  continued  to  manage  the  affairs  of 
the  line  until  1877.  On  the  seventeenth  of  April,  1877,  the  road  was  sold 
to  a  new  corporation  for  $1,450,000.  In  1872  a  branch  of  the  road  was  built 
from  Bismarck  in  Newell  township,  to  Brazil,  Indiana.  The  machine  shops  of 
the  road  were  built  in  the  northeast  part  of  Danville,  and  remained  there  un- 
til they  went  into  new  and  more  saisfactory  quarters  further  east  in  the  later 
suburb  called  Oaklawn. 

In  November,  1871,  the  route  from  the  Ohio  river  at  Evansville  to  Lake 
Michigan,  at  Chicago,  was  established  by  the  completion  of  the  Evansville  & 
Terre  Haute  railroad,  as  well  as  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes  lines.  In 
1872,  the  LaFayette,  Bloomington  &  Muncie  railroad  was  extended  across  the 
northern  part  of  Vermilion  County,  connecting  that  part  of  the  county  with 
an  eastern  outlet  for  their  products.  The  L.  E.  &  W.  railroad  was  built  al- 
most entirely  by  the  unaided  efforts  of  Mr.  Gifford  and  the  Penfield  Bros.,  of 
Rantoul,  and  extends  the  entire  width  of  the  county.  The  P.  &  D.  railroad, 
that  project  of  John  C.  Short  and  others,  is  now  known  as  a  part  of  the  Cairo 
division  of  die  New  York  Central  lines,  was  built  largely  by  the  aid  of  local 
subscriptions,  and  it  gave  the  southern  part  of  the  county  long  needed  facilities. 

THE   ILLINOIS   TRACTION    COMPANY. 

The  Illinois   Traction   Company  operates  three  interurban  lines  into  Dan- 
ille  each  day.     These  lines  connect  Danville  with  every  part  of  the  county 


v 


366  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

except  the  northeast  and  the  north.  There  are  cars  which  run  every  twenty 
to  fifty  minutes  that  will  take  passengers  from  Danville  to  Georgetown,  Ver- 
milion Grove,  Catlin,  all  points  on  the  line  between  Danville  and  the  western 
line  of  the  county.  The  Illinois  Traction  Company  runs  72  Interurban  cars  into 
Danville  each  day.  This  line  accommodates  both  passenger  and  freight  trans- 
portation. The  passenger  service  is  of  the  best  and  the  line  is  patronized  freely, 
particularly  in  the  warm  weather  when  the  loss  of  dust  compensates  for  the 
possible  loss  of  a  short  time.  This  is  true  in  the  longer  trips  from  Danville  to 
Decatur  and  to  Springfield. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
THE  POSTOFFICE  IN  DANVILLE. 

Danville  became  a  postoffice  in  1828  and  Amos  Williams,  the  man  who 
seemed  to  have  all  the  offices  in  the  township  at  one  time,  was  the  first  post- 
master. He  kept  the  postoffice  at  his  residence  in  the  south  part  of  town. 
Mails  were  received  twice  a  week  from  Vincennes,  and  twice  a  week  from  the 
east.  The  mail  route  south  went  from  Danville  to  Georgetown,  thence  west 
to  a  postoffice  that  was  kept  for  a  while  at  the  point  which  afterward  became 
the  Josiah  Sandusky  farm,  thence  south  to  Paris,  in  Edgar  County,  and  on 
to  Vincennes. 

With  a  change  in  the  administration  of  the  government,  a  change  in  post- 
masters necessarily  followed.  I.  R.  Moore  was  appointed  the  second  post- 
master, and  removed  the  office  to  a  store  on  Main  street,  the  south  side  near 
Walnut  street.  Josiah  Alexander  was  next  postmaster  for  a  while,  and  after 
him  Col.  Othniel  Gilbert  was  appointed.  Col.  Gilbert  moved  the  postoffice  to 
the  Pennsylvania  House.  In  all  these  wanderings  of  the  postoffice  it  was  not 
without  its  misfortunes,  or  rather  its  means  of  participating  in  the  misfortunes 
of  others.  While  it  was  housed  in  the  Pennsylvania  House,  Mr.  Cassady 
mailed  $1,000  to  a  firm  in  Cincinnati  with  whom  he  was  transacting  some  land 
business.  It  never  reached  its  destination.  There  was  a  man  boarding  at  the 
Pennsylvania  House  who  had  no  visible  means  of  getting  his  living.  He  dis- 
appeared about  this  time  and  suspicion  was  directed  to  him,  but  the  crime  was 
never  proven.  Alexander  Chesley  was  the  next  postmaster,  and  he  took  the 
office  to  a  little  building  on  West  Main  street.  Soon  H.  G.  Boyce  followed 
him.  He  moved  the  office  further  west  on  Main  street  to  the  corner  of  Wal- 
nut street.  While  there  the  postoffice  was  robbed  of  small  sums,  but  the  thief 
was  discovered  through  the  means  of  decoy  letters,  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 

In  1861  Rev.  Kingsbury  was  appointed  postmaster  and  moved  the  office 
to  the  old  Presbyterian  church.  Here  another  robbery  was  perpetrated.  A 
man  by  the  name  of  Smith,  who  was  a  music  teacher  and  well  respected  in 
the  community,  was  Rev.  Kingsbury's  assistant,  and  fully  trusted  in  the  office. 
As  the  thefts  were  discovered,  suspicion  turned  so  strongly  to  him  that  Dr. 
Fithian  and  Mr.  Kingsbury  took  him  one  side  and  searched  him,  and  found 
some  of  the  missing  property  in  his  boots.  He  was  put  under  arrest,  but  was 
bailed  out  and  left  the  country.  However,  he  did  not  cover  his  tracks,  and 
was  found  in  Iowa,  where  he  was  a  very  prominent  person.  He  was  teaching 

367 


368  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

a  singing  school  and  had  so  thoroughly  won  the  confidence  of  the  people  that 
they  could  not  believe  he  was  other  than  honest,  but  followed  him  to  the  train 
loudly  expressing  their  grief  in  what  they  thought  his  misfortune.  He  was 
brought  back  here  and  convicted  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary.  William  Morgan 
followed  Rev.  Kingsbury  as  postmaster  and  had  the  office  on  the  south  side 
of  the  public  square.  Col.  McKibben  succeeded  William  Morgan  and  died 
while  in  office.  He  kept  the  office  in  a  store  on  Vermilion  street  near  the  ^Etna 
House.  Samuel  Fairchild  was  the  next  postmaster.  He  was  followed  by  C. 
W.  Gregory  who  was  followed  by  W.  R.  Jewell.  Mr.  Jewell  has 'been  post- 
master ever  since  with  the  exception  of  the  time  covered  by  the  administration 
of  President  Cleveland. 


DANVILLE  BRANCH  NATIONAL  HOME  FOR  DISABLED  VOLUNTEER  SOLDIERS 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
THE  NATIONAL  HOME  FOR  DISABLED  VOLUNTEER  SOLDIERS. 

The  Danville  Branch  of  the  National  Home  for  Disabled  Volunteer  Sol- 
diers was  established  at  Danville,  111.,  by  act  of  congress,  approved  June  4, 
1897,  and  was  ready  for  use  July  i,  1898,  when  several  buildings  had  been 
completed.  The  cost  of  buildings  and  grounds  has  been  $1,321,690.63.  Of 
this  amount  $45,961.25  was  paid  for  325  acres  of  land,  and  $1,275,729.38  for 
buildings  and  improvements. 

The  principal  buildings  are  the  headquarters  building,  in  which  are  located 
the  headquarters  offices  of  the  governor  and  adjutant,  and  the  office  of  the 
treasurer,  and  the  printing  office;  also  the  hospital,  with  a  capacity  for  300 
patients,  besides  room  for  the  necessary  attendants;  fifteen  barracks,  with  a 
capacity  for  3,500  members,  a  splendid  opera  house,  a  thoroughly  equipped 
library,  for  which  building  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie  donated  $25,000;  quarter- 
master's storehouse,  mess  hall,  kitchen  and  bakery,  all  under  one  roof;  laundry, 
Catholic  and  Protestant  chapels,  guard  house,  and  about  twenty-five  other  build- 
ings, consisting  of  residences  of  officers,  store,  restaurant,  etc. 

Eleven  commissioned  and  thirty-seven  non-commissioned  officers  constitute 
the  governing  power  of  the  Home.  All  of  these,  excepting  the  treasurer  and 
one  chaplain,  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil  war.  The  official  staff  is  as  follows : 
Governor,  M.  J.  Barger;  treasurer,  W.  L.  Kelley;  surgeon,  D.  C.  Jones;  quar- 
termaster, E.  W.  Eldridge;  commissary  of  subsistence,  J.  W.  Newlon;  adjutant, 
William  H.  Platt;  Catholic  chaplain,  Rev.  Thos.  H.  Kinsella;  Protestant  chap- 
lain, Rev.  Thomas  A.  Parker. 

To  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Home,  325  members  of  the  Home  and  150 
civilians  are  employed.  Of  the  civilians,  70  are  men  and  80  are  women ;  the 
latter  being  employed  as  nurses,  cooks,  waiters,  seamstresses,  etc.  The  mem- 
bership of  the  Home  at  this  writing  is  as  follows:  present,  2,229;  absent  on 
furlough,  694;  total,  2,923. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Home,  there  have  been  13,579  members  ad- 
mitted and  10,579  nave  been  lost  by  discharge,  death,  etc. ;  2,030  have  died  since 
the  organization  of  the  Home;  1,349  are  burried  in  the  Home  cemetery,  and 
the  others  have  been  taken  away  by  friends  or  have  died  while  absent  on  fur- 
lough. 

369 


370  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

A  band  of  twenty-five  musicians  is  maintained,  and  during  the  summer 
daily  concerts  are  given.  Besides,  there  are  billiard  rooms,  croquet  grounds, 
etc.,  and  during  the  winter  months  many  theatrical  companies  give  shows  in 
the  opera  house.  Readers  are  employed  for  the  blind  in  the  hospital  and  in 
the  "old  men's"  barracks. 

The  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  Home  per  annum  is  about  $360,000.  Be- 
sides the  Danville  branch,  there  are  nine  other  branches,  and  they  are  located 
as  follows:  Eastern  branch,  Togus,  Maine,  established  in  1866;  central  branch, 
Dayton,  Ohio,  established  in  1867;  northwestern  branch,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  es- 
tablished in  1867;  southern  branch,  Hampton,  Va.,  established  in  1870;  west- 
ern branch,  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  established  in  1885;  Pacific  branch,  Santa 
Monica,  Cal.,  established  in  1888;  Marion  branch,  Marion,  Ind.,  established  in 
1888;  mountain  branch,  Johnson  City,  Tenn.,  established  in  1903;  Battle  Moun- 
tain sanitarium,  Hot  Springs,  South  Dakota,  established  1907. 

The  different  branches  are  controlled  by  a  board  of  managers,  consisting 
of  fourteen  members,  and  appointed  by  the  congress.  Their  names  and  address 
follow :  The  President,  the  chief  justice,  the  secretary  of  war  of  the  United 
States,  ex  officios;  Major  James  W.  Wadsworth,  president  board  of  managers, 
Geneseo,  N.  Y. ;  Gen.  Thomas  J.  Henderson,  first  vice  president,  Princeton. 
111. ;  Capt.  Henry  E.  Palmer,  second  vice  president,  Omaha,  Neb. ;  Col.  W.  E. 
Brownlow,  secretary,  Jonesboro,  Tenn. ;  John  M.  Holley,  Esq.,  La  Crosse,  Wis. ; 
Major  William  Warner,  Kansas  City,  Mo. ;  Col.  Henry  H.  Markham,  Redondo, 
Cal.;  Lieut.  Franklin  Murphy,  Newark,  N.  J. ;  Col.  Edwin  P.  Hammond,  La 
Fayette,  Ind. ;  Gen.  Joseph  S.  Smith,  Bangor,  Maine ;  Lieut.  Oscar  M.  Gort- 
schall,  Dayton,  Ohio. 


SCENE  ON  THE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  DANVILLE  BRANCH  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
HOME  FOR  DISABLED  VOLUNTEER  SOLDIERS 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
THE  G.  A.  R. 

Kenesaw  Post  No.  77,  Department  of  Illinois,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
was  organized  at  Danville,  Illinois,  May  5,  1880,  with  the  following  list  of 
charter  members:  Edwin  Winter,  James  A.  Outland,  Henry  J.  Hall,  George 
W.  Flynn,  John  W.  Dale,  F.  M.  Allhands,  Wm.  H.  Newlin,  B.  F.  Cook,  A. 
Martin,  George  Dillon,  L.  M.  Brown,  W.  J.  Calhoun,  John  Lane,  R.  W. 
Hanford,  J.  H.  Woodmansee,  W.  R.  Jewell,  M.  V.  B.  Tiffany,  E.  J.  Draper, 
W.  E.  Shedd,  W.  A.  Payton,  E.  C.  Abdill,  Charles  D.  Eoff,  Fred  Buy,  Amos 
S.  Cowan,  Edwin  S.  Coffin,  E.  W.  Eakin,  Alex.  Pollock,  J.  E.  Field,  W.  H. 
Craft,  D.  C.  Deamude,  S.  B.  Ferguson,  B.  Brittingham,  B.  R:  Hefley,  M.  J. 
Wolford,  H.  Plasnick,  Wm.  J.  Moore,  J.  M.  Clark,  J.  G.  Hull,  H.  V.  Wilkin- 
son, Charles  Coton,  Park  T.  Martin,  R.  C.  Holton,  E.  D.  Steen,  Sam  J.  Hall, 
Thomas  Graves,  James  D.  English,  W.  H.  Taylor,  James  D.  Harrison,  J.  C. 
Black,  G.  W.  Jones,  F.  W.  Penwell,  O.  S.  Cowan,  Morris  Irick,  C.  M.  Coulter, 
H.  O.  Brower,  Joseph  Beddow,  H.  A.  Johnson,  G.  W.  Dickson,  James  Holsen, 
John  Slusser,  Dennis  Olehy,  Charles  H.  Drake. 

The  charter  is  signed  by  Edgar  D.  Swaim,  department  commander,  and  at- 
tested by  Charles  E.  Koch,  assistant  adjutant  general.  Kenesaw  Post  has  never 
lapsed  since  its  organization ;  it  has  included  the  names  of  more  than  600  comrades, 
many  of  whom  are  dead ;  others  have  moved  away  and  their  history  is  lost. 
Many  others  have  dropped  from  the  post  because  of  infirmities  and  feebleness 
due  to  disease  and  wounds  contracted  while  in  their  country's  service,  and  to 
the  ever  increasing  infirmities  of  oncoming  old  age.  The  present  officers  of 
the  post  are:  J.  W.  Whitmeyer,  commander;  W.  H.  Byram,  senior  vice  com- 
mander; P.  F.  Oliver,  junior  vice  commander;  W.  D.  Johnson,  officer  of  the 
day ;  A.  B.  Elder,  officer  of  the  guard ;  W.  H.  Taylor,  chaplain ;  J.  A.  Williams, 
adjutant;  W.  B.  Sheffer,  quartermaster;  J.  P.  Burchit,  patriotic  instructor. 
Trustees:  J.  P.  Burchit,  P.  F.  Oliver,  E.  Cooley.  Present  membership  is  over 
100. 


371 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
THE  WOMAN'S  CLUBS  IN  DANVILLE. 

The  fad  or  natural  demand  or  fashion,  call  it  what  you  choose,  to  organize 
the  women  of  a  place  into  woman's  clubs,  did  not  miss  Danville.  Clubs  with 
every  reason  to  exist  or  not  to  exist  have  taken  possession  not  only  of  Danville 
but  of  every  village  of  the  county.  Social  clubs  of  every  description  have  come 
to  stay.  All  these  clubs  naturally  have  an  effect  of  dissipating  the  forces  of 
the  individual  and  the  community  as  well.  Not  all  the  women  of  Danville  by 
any  means  became  members  of  any  of  these  clubs,  but  a  large  number  did. 

There  had  been  an  old  Chautauqua  class,  and  in  1895  this  class  decided  to 
become  a  part  of  the  state  federation,  and  organized  themselves  into  an  incor- 
porated body  with  about  thirty-five  members.  This  organization  was  called 
The  Woman's  Club.  Mrs.  Joseph  Carter,  at  that  time  the  wife  of  the  super- 
intendent of  Danville  schools,  made  great  effort  to  bring  about  this  organiza- 
tion. Mr.  W.  R.  Jewell  was  also  active  in  bringing  about  the  making  of  a 
woman's  club  in  Danville. 

The  first  president  of  the  Woman's  Club  was  fittingly  Mrs.  Joseph  Carter 
(Mrs.  Jane  Fennel  Carter).  Under  her  management,  the  club  grew  in  num- 
bers, and  was  well  organized.  An  ideal  of  the  duties  of  the  organization's 
opportunities  was  made  high.  Several  sections  were  formed,  in  which  different 
courses  of  study  could  be  pursued,  and  the  club  bid  fair  to  help  raise  the  stand- 
ard of  woman's  effort. 

Miss  Sherman  was  the  next  president,  and  under  her  administration  the 
club  grew  in  numbers  and  efficiency.  Josephine  Lawrence  was  the  third  presi- 
dent, and  the  club  comprised  many  of  the  women  of  the  city.  Mrs.  Fannie 
Pearson  Meeks  was  the  next  president.  Mrs.  Meeks  is  a  woman  of  high  ap- 
preciation of  literary  attainments,  and  during  her  administration  the  club  made 
efforts  to  make  progress  in  this  direction.  Mrs.  Glidden  was  the  president  for 
the  next  year.  She  was  active  in  increasing  the  membership  and  raising  the 
social  tone  of  the  club.  Mrs.  Nanny  Kelly  Guy  was  the  president  immediately 
following.  Mrs.  Glidden  and  she  made  popular  and  efficient  leaders.  Jane 
Head  Fithian  succeeded  Mrs.  Guy.  It  was  while  Mrs.  Fithian  was  president 
that  the  State  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs  met  at  Danville.  This  meeting 
was  a  great  success  and  reflected  great  credit  on  the  management  of  the 
Woman's  Club  of  Danville.  Mrs.  Fithian  is  a  woman  eminently  fitted  to  man- 
age such  an  affair. 

372 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  373 

Mrs.  Gertrude  T.  D.  Samuels  followed  Mrs.  Fithian,  and  under  her  ad- 
ministration the  matter  of  domestic  science  was  favorably  considered.  Mrs. 
Kate  Aull  Heath  followed  Mrs.  Samuel  as  president  of  the  Woman's  Club, 
and  made  a  splendid  presiding  officer.  Mrs.  Heath  has  had  much  experience 
in  such  work,  and  knew  how  to  handle  the  club  matters.  Mrs.  Myra  Clark 
was  the  presiding  officer  for  the  following  year.  Mrs.  Clark  is  a  faithful  worker 
in  anything  she  undertakes,  and  the  club  found  her  always  ready. 

Mrs.  Clark  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Thompson,  and  she  is  serving  her  second 
year  as  president  of  the  Woman's  Club  of  Danville.  The  club  privileges  are 
not  restricted  to  Danville,  and  the  women  of  other  parts  of  the  county  are 
welcome  to  become  members.  During  Mrs.  Thompson's  rule  a  very  important 
work  has  been  inaugurated  in  the  help  given  to  shoe  the  children  who  are  with- 
out these  necessities.  The  Woman's  Club  has  done  good  work,  both  in  the 
literary  and  civic  field  and  in  the  domestic  science  line.  The  Woman's  Club 
is  particularly  to  be  commended  for  the  work  they  have  done  here  since  it 
was  directly  through  their  efforts  that  domestic  science  was  put  into  the  regu- 
lar school  work  as  a  study. 

In  civics  they  have  worked  more  particularly  along  the  line  of  pure  food 
and  clean  groceries.  Their  object  at  present  is  to  secure  playgrounds  for  chil- 
dren. The  present  philanthropic  work  is  something  a  little  unusual.  This  is 
under  the  charge  of  the  shoe  and  stocking  section.  The  club  works  through 
the  teachers  of  the  public  schools.  There  is  a  committee  in  the  club  who  take 
care  of  all  cases.  When  a  teacher  finds  a  pupil  in  need  of  shoes  and  not  able 
to  buy  them,  she  sends  a  note  with  the  child,  who  takes  it  to  the  club  rooms  on 
Saturday,  where  one  of  the  members  of  this  section  is  in  waiting  to  take  the 
child  or  children  to  a  shoe  store  and  buy  a  pair  of  shoes,  providing  also  two 
pairs  of  stockings.  This  section  has  been  in  existence  for  two  years  and  have 
kept  one  hundred  and  fifty  children  in  school.  In  connection  with  this  work, 
it  is  only  just  to  credit  Mrs.  Muir  with  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  She 
has  given  her  time,  her  energies  and  her  best  endeavor  into  this  work,  and 
never  has  been  discouraged  nor  dismayed. 


CHAPTER  XL. 
THE  D.  A.  R. 

The  Centennial  Celebration  with  a  World's  Fair  in  Philadelphia,  had  one 
evident  result,  the  founding  of  several  patriotic  societies.  Among  them  was 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  This  society  was  formed  with 
the  distinct  purpose  of  promoting  patriotism  and  increasing  interest  in  the 
country,  both  in  the  present  and  past. 

The  appreciation  of  the  history  of  America  needed  fostering,  and  such  a 
society  had  a  place  in  the  life  of  the  women  of  the  United  States.  The  eastern 
states  soon  had  a  large  membership,  and  even  the  middle  west  found  that  many 
of  the  daughters  had  wandered  even  so  far  from  the  scene  of  the  revolution. 

Certain  objections  arose  to  the  management  of  this  society,  and  another 
was  formed,  called  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution.  This  society,  however, 
has  never  been  very  popular  so  far  west,  it  being  stronger  along  the  Hudson 
than  anywhere  else.  The  qualifications  for  either  of  these  societies  are  that 
one's  lineal  ancestors  had  fought  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  but 
recently  that  there  were  found  enough  women  eligible  to  membership  in  Vermilion 
County.  It  was  in  1905  that  twelve  Hoopeston  women  organized  a  chapter 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  This  chapter  was  named  the 
Barbara  Standish  chapter.  Mary  Hall  Hamilton  was  elected  the  first  regent. 
The  Barbara  Standish  chapter  now  numbers  twenty-five  members.  Each  year 
a  calendar  is  issued,  and  some  splendid  papers  have  been  read  before  this 
chapter. 

To  encourage  interest  in  American  history  as  a  study  in  the  schools,  medals 
are  awarded  for  the  best  historical  sketch  and  for  the  highest  grade  in  the 
classes  of  American  history.  The  chapter  has  sent  its  portion  to  the  various 
state  and  national  causes,  and  each  year  enthusiastic  delegates  return  from  the 
state  conventions.  It  was  in  1907  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  organize  a 
chapter  in  Danville.  Enough,  who  were  eligible,  did  not  respond,  however,  until 
in  January  of  1908.  The  chapter  was  organized  at  that  time,  and  the  charter* 
came  the  following  May.  The  membership  was  limited  in  this  chapter  for  a 
time,  but  this  was  corrected,  and  an  active  membership  resulted.  Mrs.  Blose 
was  the  first  regent,  with  Mrs.  Ridgeley  as  the  first  secretary.  Mrs.  A.  L. 
Lyons  was  elected  regent  in  1910.  Miss  Chesley  has  been  secretary  for  two 
terms.  The  interest  in  the  D.  A.  R.  organization  is  enhanced  in  Vermilion 
County  by  the  fact  that  there  are  four  graves  of  Revolutionary  soldiers  within 
the  county  limits. 

374 


COAL  MINE  NEAR  DANVILLE 


CHAPTER  XLI. 
COAL  AND  COAL  MINES. 

In  the  year  1669  Robert  Cavelier  La  Salle  left  his  trading  post  in  Canada 
an  expedition  to  China  by  the  way  of  the  Ohio  river.  He  learned  before  he 
arrived  at  the  Mississippi  river  that  it  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  he 
then  changed  his  course  and  followed  the  Illinois  river.  It  was  during  this  part 
of  his  journey  that  coal  was  first  discovered  in  this  part  of  the  continent ;  he 
found  coal  croppings  along  the  river  bank. 

It  is  claimed  that  Illinois  is  the  first  locality  in  which  a  coal  mine  was 
opened  up  on  the  north  American  continent,  one  having  been  opened  up  as 
early  as  1670  at  what  is  now  Ottawa.  When  the  boundary  lines  of  Illinois 
were  staked  off  no  one  knew  of  the  vast  wealth  of  coal  underlying  the  great 
level  plains  within,  and  when  statehood  was  granted  in  1818,  one  of  the  largest 
coal-producing  states  was  annexed. 

VERMILION    COUNTY. 

If  La  Salle  had  followed  the  course  of  rivers  leading  to  Vermilion  County, 
he  would  have  found  many  croppings  of  coal  along  the  Vermilion  river. 

The  earliest  mining  was  carried  on  in  the  hill  sides  by  drifting  in  and  fol- 
lowing the  vein,  or  by  stripping,  and  today  one,  in  looking  around  along  the 
river  banks  and  nearby  ravines,  will  see  many  old  workings  that  have  gradually 
given  away  to  modern  mining. 

In  February,  1855,  the  General  Assembly  of  Illinois  issued  a  charter  to 
Ward  H.  Lamon  and  others  associated  with  him,  to  permit  the  company  to 
engage  in  the  mining  business;  nothing  was  done  under  the  charter.  Dudley 
Lacock  did  some  mining,  but  he  moved  to  Livingston  County  in  1854.  Lacock 
owned  considerable  coal  land  west  of  Danville,  but  he  did  very  little  mining 
on  it.  W.  Caruthers  and  Mr.  Ball  commenced  operations  in  1853 ;  further 
to  the  south  William  Kirkland  opened  drift  mines  east  of  the  Wabash  Railway 
bridge,  south  of  Danville. 

About  1860  Chandler  and  Donlan  were  the  first  to  do  extensive  mining,  and 
they  were  followed  by  Peter  R.  Lonard.  As  early  as  1860  Michael  Kelly  began 
an  extensive  strip  mining  business.  Charles  Dobins,  also  William  Shaw,  and 
B.  Bensel  carried  on  a  profitable  business  for  several  years  in  stripping  along 
the  bluffs  of  the  North  Fork. 

375 


376  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

The  real  beginning  of  the  great  coal  industry  in  Vermilion  County  dates  from 
the  time  William  Kirkland,  Hugh  Blankeney,  Mr.  Graves,  and  Mr.  Lafferty  opened 
up  their  mines  in  Grape  Creek  in  1866.  J.  S.  Morin  was  in  charge  of  the 
Kirkland  mines ;  Kirkland  was  unable  to  carry  on  as  extensive  a  mining  business 
as  he  wanted  to,  on  account  of  scarcity  of  miners,  and  he  imported  two  carloads 
of  men  and  operated  extensively  by  stripping  with  horses  and  scrapers  north- 
west of  Tilton.  The  number  of  men  was  still  inadequate  for  his  business,  and 
a  whole  shipload  of  Belgiums  were  imported  to  work  in  the  mines.  Kirkland 
sold  his  coal  principally  to  the  Illinois  Railway  Co.,  who  had  tracks  laid  to 
his  mines. 

About  1870  A.  C.  Daniels  sunk  shaft  No.  2  for  the  Ellsworth  Coal  Co.  and 
two  years  later  sunk  No.  4  for  the  same  company.  These  properties  were  taken 
over  by  the  Consolidated  Coal  Co.  Shafts  Nos.  2  and  3  were  burned  down ; 
No.  2  by  accident,  and  No.  3  by  strikers.  The  miners  who  set  fire  to  No.  3 
shaft  were  caught,  prosecuted  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary  in  1874. 

To  Michael  Kelly  belongs  a  great  deal  of  credit  for  the  wonderful  strides 
made  in  this  industry.  He  left  his  strip  mine  on  the  North  Fork,  and  bought 
some  coal  land  in  the  Grape  Creek  field.  He  soon  had  a  considerable  quantity 
of  coal  to  market,  and  was  able  to  furnish  coal  to  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illi- 
nois Railroad  Company  for  their  locomotives ;  he  also  discovered  another  vein  of 
coal  at  a  depth  of  go  feet;  this  vein  was  8  to  9  feet  thick  and  of  better  quality 
than  the  top  vein.  Mr.  L.  T.  Dickerson  took  an  interest  in  the  business  with 
Mr.  Kelly;  they  made  wonderful  progress.  Later  Mr.  Kelly  acquired  Mr. 
Dickerson's  interest ;  he  also  purchased  more  land  and  had  two  mines  in  opera- 
tion. About  this  time  other  men  became  interested  in  the  possibilities  of  the 
coal  industry.  The  Pawnee  Coal  Co.  was  organized  in  1888  by  Paul  W.  Mc- 
Kay and  Mr.  Hutchinson.  They  began  extensive  operations  in  Grape  Creek ; 
also  the  Consolidated  Coal  Co.  began  operations  on  a  large  scale  in  the  Mis- 
sionfield  stripping  proposition  west  of  Danville. 

The  Brookside  Coal  Company  was  organized  by  Mr.  Sandmeyer  and  ope- 
rated a  mine  near  the  Pawnee  at  Grape  Creek.  The  Himrod  Coal  Company  was 
organized  by  Bernard  and  Charles  Himrod,  they  took  over  the  Pawnee  Coal 
Company  mines  and  also  bought  other  land  and  opened  the  Himrod  mine,  under 
the  management  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Keefer,  these  mines  made  fast  headway  and 
became  a  big  factor  in  the  coal  mining  business. 

In  1870  considerable  mining  was  done  in-  west  Vermilion  Heights.  John  Short 
opened  up  a  fine  body  of  coal  land  and  for  a  long  time  the  place  was  known  as 
the  "Moss  Bank  Coal  Mine."  In  1873  this  property  was  taken  over  by  the  Paris 
and  Danville  railroad.  General  R.  H.  Carnahan  was  in  charge  of  these  mines 
for  several  years. 

In  1879  A.  C.  Daniels  operated  the  Ellsworth  mines,  and  bought  the  Car- 
bon Coal  Company,  also  several  other  mines  south,  and  operated  them  under 
the  name  of  the  Consolidated  Coal  Company. 

In  1873  William  and  Henry  Butler  made  a  contract  with  the  Consolidated 
Coal  Company  to  strip  their  coal  in  Missionfield  district  and  for  several  years 
Butler  Bros,  struggled  along  but  were  unable  to  make  the  proposition  pay  and 
in  1900  practically  abandoned  the  place,  others  tried  it  later  but  none  succeeded. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  377 

The  discovery  of  a  lower  vein  of  coal  in  the  Grape  Creek  district  by  Air. 
Kelly  had  the  effect  of  transferring  the  extensive  operations  to  this  vein  and 
aside  from  small  workings  very  little  coal  was  being  taken  out  of  the  top  vein. 
The  coal  land  laying  west  of  Danville  was  not  as  profitably  operated  as  that  of 
the  south  although  Sylva  Parle  operated  a  mine  west  of  Danville  near  the  town 
limits,  for  several  years  supplying  coal  to  consumers  and  local  dealers. 

In  1892  Mr.  J.  G.  Hammond  operated  the  "Economy,"  west  of  Danville  on 
the  Peoria  and  Eastern  Railway,  and  on  account  of  labor  and  other  troubles  which 
continued  for  a  year  or  two,  sent  to  Iowa  for  Wm.  G.  and  John  G.  Hartshorn, 
friends  of  his  to  help  him  out,  they  bought  an  interest  in  the  business  and  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  it  up  to  a  profitable  standpoint.  In  1903  Hartshorn  Brothers 
and  Mr.  J.  A.  Barnard,  general  manager  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad  Company 
organized  the  Electric  Coal  Company,  bought  land  four  miles  west  of  Danville, 
opened  and  successfully  operated  the  "Electric"  mine.  Hartshorn  Brothers 
and  Mr.  Barnard  also  organized  the  Hartshort  Coal  Company,  which  concern 
acquired  the  mine  at  Muncie,  which  was  formerly  owned  by  the  Entronous 
Coal  Company. 

In  1909  the  ill  fated  Missionfield  mine  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Hartshorn 
Brothers,  who  organized  the  Missionfield  Coal  Company,  and  notwithstanding 
the  great  losses  suffered  by  former  operators  they  were  successful  in  making 
the  strip  proposition  pay,  the  continued  success  of  Hartshorn's  operations  in  the 
west  coal  fields  had  the  effect  of  greatly  enhancing  the  value  of  coal  land  in 
that  district,  options  on  hundreds  of  acres  was  taken  at  one  hundred  dollars  an 
acre  in  1910. 

In  1903  Michael  Kelly  bought  out  the  Himrod  Coal  Company  paying  them 
$260,000.  He  then  became  the  largest  individual  coal  operator  in  the  state. 
About  1900  the  South  Westville  Coal  Company  was  organized  by  Mr.  Gerety 
and  a  large  mine  was  soon  in  operation  south  of  Westville.  In  1905  W.  B. 
McKinley  formed  a  syndicate  to  take  over  the  mines  of  Michael  Kelly,  for  which 
they  paid  three  million  dollars.  About  this  time  the  Dering  Coal  Company  was 
organized  by  J.  K.  Dering  and  R.  R.  Hammond  to  take  over  the  South  West- 
ville Coal  Company  mines.  They  also  bought  more  land  and  soon  had  four 
mines  in  operation.  The  coal  industry  in  Vermilion  County  at  this  time  had 
reached  its  zenith,  some  two  and  a  half  million  tons  were  mined  in  1906.  The 
Dering  mines  were  operated  under  the  management  of  W.  G.  Halbert  and  the 
McKinley  mines  under  W.  G.  Hartshorn. 

In  1907  the  Little  Vermilion  Coal  Company  was  organized  by  L.  T.  Dicker- 
son,  a  large  producing  mine  quickly  followed  its  organization  and  was  ope- 
rated under  the  management  of  Alva  Halbert. 

In  1908  the  Bunsen  Coal  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  a  subsidiary 
of  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  bought  several  thousands  acres  of  coal  land  near 
Westville,  Georgetown  and  Catlin,  also  they  bought  out  the  Little  Vermilion 
Coal  Company,  later  they  acquired  the  Kelly  properties  from  the  McKinley  syn- 
dicate and  the  mines  were  opened  up  for  extensive  operations.  The  coal  in- 
dustry in  1910  was  brought  down  to  three  principal  ownerships,  the  Illinois 
Steel  Company  and  the  Dering  Coal  Company  in  the  south  field  and  Hartshorn 
Brothers  in  the  west  field. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 
ABANDONED  TOWNS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

All  the  plans  made  by  any  one  do  not  mature;  all  the  flowers  that  bud  do 
not  produce  flowers;  all  the  towns  which  man  plats  do  not  come  off  paper. 
While  attention  is  centered  on  the  towns,  villages  and  cities  which  have  made 
a  record  why  not  take  the  time  to  consider  the  many  promising  places  that  have 
not  come  to  the  point  of  redeeming  their  promise. 

Some  of  these  villages  never  went  off  paper,  and  some  of  them  have  had  a 
few  years  of  life  to  be  abandoned  and  let  go  back  to  the  wilderness  from  which 
they  came.  One  of  these  is  the  once  proud  and  promising  Denmark.  When  it 
is  considered  that  Denmark  was  a  prosperous  village  before  Danville  was  plat- 
ted, and  then  look  at  it  now,  it  seems  as  though  there  must  be  a  mistake. 
A  few  frame  houses  which  have  been  built  within  the  last  few  years  stand  along 
the  country  roadside  at  the  front  of  the  old  Denmark  hill ;  the  river  with  a  mod- 
ern bridge  to  span  it  where  once  there  was  the  more  romantic  ford,  and  one, 
only  one,  old  house  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  past  glory  of  the  village  where  the 
citizens  had  made  an  attempt  to  become  the  county  seat,  when  it  was  located  on 
land  which  was,  as  yet,  not  even  boasting  of  a  house.  This  remaining  house 
speaks  in  a  strange  tongue  the  tale  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  Denmark. 

Conkeytown  and  Higginsville  will  some  time  at  no  distant  day  be  counted  in 
the  list  of  abandoned  towns,  but  not  now.  A  book  to  be  found  in  the  office  of 
recorder  of  Vermilion  County  is  of  great  interest.  It  is  a  record  of  towns  and 
villages  no  longer,  and  for  that  matter  in  most  cases  never  abiding  places  for 
human  beings. 

There  are  some  villages  which  are  not  recorded,  among  which  is  the  one 
called  Vermilion  Rapids.  This  was  supposed  to  be  located  on  the  site  of  the 
town  afterwards  called  Higginsville.  In  the  thirties,  there  was  much  talk  of 
making  use  of  the  Vermilion  river  for  commercial  purposes.  The  citizens  of 
Danville  tried  to  slack  water  the  Vermilion  river  and  make  it  navigable  to 
its  mouth.  But  this  was  never  a  practical  idea,  and  the  only  use  made  of  the 
waters  was  that  on  paper,  when  the  effort  was  made  to  coin  money  by  selling 
lots  in  an  imaginary  town  called  Vermilion  Rapids,  claimed  to  be  "favorably 
located  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Vermilion  river." 

It  was  in  1836,  that  Amando  Higgins,  (a  brother  of  Judge  Higgins)  and 
Marcus  C.  Stearns  entered  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  36  (21-13) 

378 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  379 

and  bought  sixteen  acres  off  the  south  end  of  the  east  quarter  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  25,  to  bring  them  out  to  the  road,  and  laid  it  out  in  town  lots. 
This  was  platted  and  recorded  in  1836,  just  before  the  crash  came,  which  made 
these  kind  of  speculations  cease.  The  town  thus  platted  was  called  Vermilion 
Rapids.  The  plat  was  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  showed  the  same  to  be 
about  ten  rods  wide  at  this  point,  and  large  enough  to  float  a  steamer.  The 
"rapids"  were  the  main  part  of  this  enterprise,  since  no  boat  could  pass  any 
further  up  the  stream  on  their  account.  The  prospect  of  having  boats  take  on 
produce  from  the  rich  land  around  and  in  turn  deposit  all  the  manufactured 
articles  from  the  most  distant  clime  were  flattering  in  the  extreme.  No  reason 
that  direct  communication  might  not  be  kept  up  with  New  Orleans  and  for  that 
matter  with  Rio,  Cuba  and  any  part  of  Europe.  Such  was  the  foundation  for 
the  scheme,  whereby  the  promoters  of  this  swindle  would  coin  money.  The 
"rapids,"  unless  removed  by  government  authority  and  appropriation  would 
always  remain  a  barrier  past  which  no  progress  could  be  made  up  stream,  and 
the  prospective  city  would  become  the  great  mart  for  trade  for  a  hundred 
miles  in  every  direction. 

The  principal  streets  in  this  prospective  city  running  north  and  south  to  the 
river  front  were  named  Parish,  Higgins,  Chicago  and  Main ;  those  running  east 
and  west  were  Williams,  Buffalo,  Bluff,  Spring  and  LaPoer.  A  wide  levee  lay- 
between  these  streets  and  the  river,  giving  plenty  of  room  for  the  immense  busi- 
ness which  was  only  awaiting  the  sale  of  land  in  this  impossible  town  to  be  made. 
This  prospective  town  was  nicely  platted  and  the  paper  taken  to  New  York  city 
to  find  buyers  of  the  lots.  This  sort  of  speculation  was  carried  to  an  incredible 
extent  in  the  years  just  before  the  crash  of  1837.  No  one  knew  the  real  value 
of  land  and  this  plat  surely  looked  reasonable  when  the  waterway  was  very  evidently 
all  that  could  be  desired ;  every  river  town  was  looked  upon  as  a  promise  of  untold 
wealth.  So  it  was  Mr.  A.  D.  Higgins  took  his  plat  to  New  York  city  to  sell  the 
land  to  speculators  on  Wall  street,  but  he  was  too  late.  The  crash  of  1837  came 
and  he  had  no  sale  at  all.  Western  lots  could  hardly  bring  the  cost  of  the  paper 
upon  which  they  were  platted.  Vermilion  Rapids,  was  thereby  relegated  to  the 
list  of  abandoned  towns  in  the  county. 

An  interesting  record  of  the  abandoned  towns  may  be  found  in  the  county 
recorder's  office. 

The  earliest  recorded  town  is  that  of  Morgantown  or  perhaps  it  should  be 
called  Morgans.  This  town  a  trace  of  which  it  seems  impossible  to  find,  is  not 
located  at  all  in  the  record,  a  small  executed  plat  with  the  local  coloring  of  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  Vermilion  river  running  alongside  thereof,  but  not  a  single 
mark  by  which  there  could  be  found  any  idea  of  where  this  town  was  located. 

The  name  is  given  as  Morgantown,  and  the  only  reasonable  conclusion  to 
draw  is  that  this  town  was  identical  with  the  old  one  of  Morgans,  or  as  often 
called,  Morgan's  neighborhood.  This  town  of  Morgantown  was  laid  out  by 
Achilles  Morgan,  and  subscribed  to  before  Jacob  Brazelton,  Jr.,  July  23,  1830. 
Each  and  every  lot  in  this  town  contained  one  fourth  part  of  an  acre,  and  had  a 
front  of  four  rods,  and  extended  ten  rods  back.  The  public  grounds  were  three 
fourths  of  an  acre. 


380  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

This  record  is  in  every  way  complete  yet  there  is  no  one  who  has  any 
knowledge  of  such  a  town  in  Vermilion  County,  nor  of  ever  hearing  of  such  a 
village,  that  can  be  found.  Wherever  it  could  have  been  there  is  no  more  trace 
of  it,  other  than  upon  the  books  of  the  county  recorder. 

Lancaster  is  another  of  the  abandoned  towns  in  Vermilion  County.  It  was 
laid  out  by  Noah  Bixler,  July  17,  1832,  on  the  north  half  of  the  east  half  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  six  in  township  19,  north  of  range  9  east.  The  plat 
was  recorded  July  18,  1832.  Whether  this  town  ever  was  off  paper  is  not 
known.  Another  one  of  the  abandoned  towns  was  laid  out  and  surveyed  in 
1832.  This  was  Greenville,  and  was  laid  off  by  Joseph  Osborn.  It  was  lo- 
cated on  the  west  quarter  of  section  No.  31,  township  19,  N.  of  R.  No.  13  west 
in  the  county  of  Vermilion  and  state  of  Illinois. 

All  lots  in  this  town  were  provided  to  be  four  rods  wide  except  lot  No.  5, 
in  block  No.  i,  lot  No.  8  in  block  No.  2;  lot  No.  i  in  block  No.  3;  and  lot  No. 
4  in  block  No.  4,  which  were  four  rods  square,  with  Main  street  running  north  and 
south  and  High  street  running  east  and  west,  both  being  four  rods  wide. 

The  plan  of  this  street  was  a  cross  roads  with  a  hollow  souare  where  the 
streets  crossed.  The  survey  and  plat  of  this  town  was  recorded  July  26,  1836. 
The  town  of  Shepherd  or  as  it  appears  on  an  early  map  Shepherdstown,  was  laid 
out  in  1836.  It  was  located  directly  east  of  Danville  very  near  to  the  state  line.  This 
was  one  of  those  early  towns  which  sprang  into  existence  and  while  they  were 
platted  and  attempts  made  to  sell  lots,  yet  never  came  off  the  paper  used  to  plat 
and  advertise  them. 

This  town,  unlike  that  of  Greenville,  was  not  built  on  the  plan  of  many  of 
those  in  Vermilion  county,  of  which  Danville  and  Georgetown  are  samples : 
namely,  with  a  hollow  square  in  the  center  of  the  town. 

Provision  was  made  in  Shepherdstown  for  lots  eight  rods  long  by  four  wide, 
with  Illinois  street  running  north  and  south.  This  street  was  on  the  west  of 
the  platted  town,  and  Chicago  street  running  on  the  east  of  the  lots.  This  lat- 
ter street  was  to  be  but  two  rods  wide.  Main  street  was  to  run  east  and  west, 
and  Prairie  street  was  just  north  of  it,  while  south  street  was  to  run  sorth  of 
Main  street.  All  the  east  and  west  streets  were  four  rods  wide.  This  town  was 
laid  out  by  John  Villars  July  28,  1836.  This  town  was  on  the  map  as  Shepherds- 
town,  but  it  is  platted  as  Shepherds. 

Franklin  was  a  town  laid  out  by  I.  Swisher,  and  H.  Rogers,  on  March 
13.  1837. 

The  town  of  Marion  was  surveyed  by  Dan  Beckwith,  May  23,  1835.  He 
was  at  that  time  yet  county  surveyor  of  Vermilion  County.  The  town  was  laid 
out  by  Alexander  Bailey,  but  had  no  growth.  Monroe  was  laid  out  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  the  Northwest  quarter  of  section  36,  T.  17,  N.  R.  n  W.  It  was 
surveyed  and  laid  out  by  Stephen  Nearfield,  and  J.  W.  Haworth. 

Provision  was  made  to  have  all  lots  four  rods  wide  by  eight  long,  with  Main 
and  High  streets  running  north  and  south,  both  being  four  rods  wide  and  Green 
ai.d  Prairie  streets  running  east  and  west,  the  same  width.  Other  streets 
were  numbered  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  etc.  These  were  to  be  one  rod  wide  each. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  381 

The  town  of  Monroe  was  recorded,  May  4,  1837. 

The  town  of  Leesburg  was  laid  out  by  Joseph  Smith.  It  was  located  on  a 
part  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  No.  14,  in 
town  No.  18,  north  of  R.  No.  n,  W.  It  was  surveyed  by  Uriah  M.  McMillen, 
May  i,  1850. 

Prospect  city  was  laid  out  by  Ransom  R.  Murdock,  William  H.  Pells, 
Leander  Britt,  Benjamin  Stites  and  Dryden  Donelly.  This  village  was  located 
on  the  south  half  of  southwest  quarter  of  section  8,  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  18,  N.,  20  acres  of  the  west  one  half  of  the  northwest  quarter,  of  section 
17,  and  the  east  one  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17,  and  the  south 
east  quarter  of  Section  7,  and  the  west  half  (less  twenty  acres  of  north  end) 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  17,  lying  in  township  23,  N.  of  R,  10  E.  of 
the  3d  Principal  Meridian.  The  plat  of  this  village  was  recorded  July  31,  1857. 

Salem,  another  of  the  abandoned  villages  of  Vermilion  County,  was  sur- 
veyed for  B.  D.  C.  Herring.  Its  location  was  somewhat  complicated,  being  six 
and  a  half  acres  out  of  the  north  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  No. 
30,  T.  21,  N.  of  R.  12,  west;  also  three  acres  one  pole  out  of  the  east  half  of 
S.  W.  quarter  of  three  sections.  Beginning  at  corner  stake,  in  the  south  line 
of  said  section.  Thence  west  14  poles  to  a  stone,  thence  north  31  poles  to  a 
stone;  thence  east  9  poles  to  a  stone;  thence  north  9  poles  to  a  stone;  thence 
east  31  poles  to  a  stone,  thence  south  40  poles  to  a  stone;  thence  west  26  poles 
to  the  beginning.  The  plat  contained  nine  acres,  and  seventy-nine  poles  of  land. 

This  list  of  abandoned  towns  have  been  given  without  regard  to  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  locations  are  at  present  in  Champaign  County.  However,  when 
they  were  platted  it  was  before  the  division  of  the  two  counties,  and  when  they 
were  abandoned  the  division  had  not  even  then  been  made.  That  being  the  case, 
as  abandoned  towns  or  villages,  they  belong  to  Vermilion  County  and  as  such 
are  considered  here. 

Gilbert  may  or  may  not  be  considered  an  abandoned  village,  since  its  suc- 
cessor has  been  built  so  near  to  the  first  town  named  for  Mr.  Alvan  Gilbert,  and 
was  given  a  part  of  his  name.  Whether  or  not  Gilbert  is  considered  an  aban- 
doned town  depends  on  whether  it  is  correct  to  consider  Alvin  the  same  town 
as  Gilbert. 

Salina  might  be  also  considered  since  it  was  the  name  given  to  the  railroad 
station  now  known  as  Fairmount,  although  the  latter  name  was  given  first. 
When  the  new  name  of  Salina  was  given  it  was  found  that  there  had  been 
another  town  in  the  state  named  Salina,  and  the  old  name  of  Fairmount  was 
continued. 

The  present  town  of  Indianola  was  formerly  called  Chillacotha  and  before 
then  was  called  Dallas,  yet  it  is  hardly  the  correct  impression  to  give  to  put 
either  of  the  two  former  names  in  the  list  of  abandoned  villages  of  Vermilion 
County. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 
A  FEW  OLD  BURYING  GROUNDS. 

• 

THE    MX.    PISGAH    BURYING    GROUND THE    DALBEY    BURYING    GROUND THE    VER- 
MILION  GROVE  BURYING  GROUND THE  GUNDY   BURYING  GROUND. 

There  is  much  of  interest  in  the  old  burying  grounds  of  any  section  and  par- 
ticularly is  that  true  of  those  of  Vermilion  County.  An  exhaustive  study  of 
these  well  repay  the  trouble.  Silent  as  these  spots  are,  there  is  a  story  for  one 
who  reads  in  the  recorded  lives  the  conditions  of  life  at  any  period,  better  per- 
haps than  in  any  other  way.  The  old  stones  which  marked  the  graves  of  the 
citizens  of  early  times  were  much  more  satisfactory  than  are  the  monuments 
lately  erected,  massive  and  giving  an  assurance  of  long  existence,  but  with  the 
most  meagre  information  recording  only  the  date  of  birth  and  that  of  death, 
perhaps. 

The  earlier  stones  were  largely  made  of  sandstone,  many  times  wooden  slabs 
taking  the  place  of  more  substantial  material.  These  sandstones  have  almost 
all  of  them  been  destroyed.  In  another  decade  there  will  be  even  less.  The  men 
and  women  who  lie  in  these  old  cemeteries  determined  the  history  of  this  section. 
Today  it  is  well  to  wander  among  the  markers  of  these  lives  and  note  how  this  one 
came  to  his  new  home  with  faith  and  trust,  and  that  one  came,  each  to  take  his 
place  among  men,  to  live  his  own  life,  and  to  help  make  the  history  of  his  own 
section  of  the  country. 

Mount  Pisgah  cemetery  has  some  recent  graves  but  many  that  are  full  of 
interest  because  of  their  being  the  last  resting  place  for  some  kind  and  hard- 
working pioneer  whose  life  was  the  sacrifice,  no  less  noble  because  unconscious, 
to  advancing  civilization.  Without  his  efforts  the  wilderness  would  not  now  be 
blossoming  like  the  rose. 

It  was  in  the  fifties  that  David  Swank  and  Levi  Long  bought  the  site  of  the 
old  cemetery  and  dedicated  it  for  burial  purposes.  Before  this  time  it  must 
have  been  a  private  burying  ground,  for  thirty  or  forty  years.  This  cemetery 
is  three  miles  west  of  Georgetown. 

There  are  two  graves  made  in  1827.  Earlier  dates  have  been  found  on  cer- 
tain stones.  Mr.  W.  L.  Long  claims  he  found  a  stone  with  the  date  of  1822,  but 
it  is  not  now  to  be  found.  It  is  possible  that  such  stone  was  to  mark  the  grave 
of  one  of  the  earliest  settlers.  Recently  there  was  a  record  of  a  girl  of  thirteen 
who  had  died  in  1815  and  been  buried  at  that  place. 

The  first  graves  in  this  old  burying  ground  were  on  the  branch  of  the 
little  stream  called  Concord  branch  now  in  the  northwest  part  of  new  addition. 

382 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  383 

The  graves  of  two  men  in  this  part  are  surrounded  with  a  rail  pen.  If  any  one 
in  this  community  knows  anything  about  these  men  it  is  hardly  possible  to  learn 
it.  There  are  old  sandstones  lying  about  from  which  the  epitaph  has  been  com- 
pletely obliterated.  Old  cedar  posts  are  standing,  with  the  inscriptions  which 
were  rudely  made  with  a  knife,  yet  plain  and  distinct.  These  are  seventy-four 
years  old.  One  of  these  have  the  inscription,  "Nancy,  wife  of  William  Brown. 
Died  June  17,  1863."  Another  cedar  marker  bears  the  inscription  of  Mary  J. 
Gephart,  Died  May  15,  1838. 

Many  wooden  markers  have  no  inscription,  and  many  of  the  sandstone 
markers  are  so  obliterated  that  they  have  no  definite  information  of  who  lies 
buried  in  that  place  to  give  the  passing  stranger. 

Among  the  oldest  graves  the  stones  tell  the  resting  place  of  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  J.  J.  Lyons,  who  died  Christmas  day,  1827.  She  was  the  first  wife  of  Jotham 
Lyons,  Sr.  Jotham  Lyons,  Sr.,  died  August  2,  1843,  and  was  buried  in  this 
cemetery.  Richard  Swank,  so  says  one  marker,  died  1827.  His  descendants  in 
that  part  of  the  country  are  legion. 

Absolom  Starr  died  October  14,  1829,  and  was  buried  in  this  burying  ground. 
Another  marker  gives  the  information  that  Kansander,  wife  of  John  Jones, 
died  August  31,  1834,  and  yet  another  that  John  Jones  himself,  died  October  26, 

1837- 

Brazelton  Milliken  died  August  26,  1835. 

Emmanuel  Gephart  died  in  1838. 

Josiah  Long  died  about  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war.  George  M.  Widener 
died  in  1840. 

This  burying  ground  is  the  resting  place  for  many  of  the  Long  and  Jones, 
the  Pantas  and  Hewitt  families. 

It  was  in  the  middle  thirties  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  established 
a  church  in  the  Mt.  Pisgah  neighborhood  and  put  up  a  meeting  house  on  the 
site  of  the  present  house  of  worship,  which  was  used  until  after  the  war,  when 
the  present  church  was  built.  This  old  burying  ground  is  on  a  high  rolling  ele- 
vation and  although  is  almost  completely  surrounded  with  water,  is  very  dry 
in  location. 

To  the  east  of  the  main  highway  between  Muncie  and  Fairmount,  about 
two  miles  south  of  Muncie,  is  the  old  Dalbey  burying  ground.  It  is  a  very  wild 
part  of  the  country.  It  is  on  a  slight  elevation,  surrounded  on  the  south  and 
east  by  a  small  rivulet,  beyond  which  are  rugged  hills.  The  trees  fringing  these 
hilltops,  are  as  silent  sentinels  of  the  melancholy  place  of  repose.  All  that  is 
needed  to  make  this  a  dreary  spot  is  the  yelping  of  the  wolves  and  the  braying 
of  the  panther,  which  were  heard  in  the  days  of  the  pioneer. 

This  burying  ground  was  laid  out  in  1838,  and  the  accompaniment  of  the 
wild  animals'  call  was  not  lacking.  It  was  on  the  joint  property  of  Aaron  Dal- 
bey, and  James  Cass.  When  the  land  was  donated  for  the  purpose  of  a  com- 
mon burial  ground,  Richard  Cass,  Jr.,  remarked.  "I  would  not  be  buried  in  such 
a  place."  Alas  the  irony  of  fate ;  his  was  the  first  grave  made  in  the  grounds. 
This  place  was  extensively  used  until  the  fifties;  but  the  whole  tract  has  been 
abandoned  and  is  now  turned  over  to  weeds  and  wild  grass.  Grave  stones  have 


384  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

been  displaced  and  markers  no  longer  reliable  in  the  information  given  because 
not  in  place. 

The  second  grave  made  in  the  grounds  was  that  of  Elizabeth  Cass,  mother 
of  Richard,  Jr.  Richard  Cass,  Sr.,  died  in  1843.  Aaron  Dalbey  died  in  1855. 
Isaac  and  Felix  Radcliff,  both  young  men  have  markers  to  show  how 
short  their  lives  were.  There  are  many  graves  here  of  people  dying  in  the  forties, 
fifties  and  sixties.  The  Casses,  Dalbeys,  McFarlands,  Meades,  Bayles,  Parrish, 
Drapers,  Whitmans  and  Radcliffs  are  to  be  found  in  this  burying  ground. 

One  of  the  prettiest  spots  in  Vermilion  County  is  the  location  of  the  Gundy 
cemetery.  While  a  part  of  this  cemetery  is  devoted  to  the  last  home  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  locality,  there  has  been  a  new  part  added  and  connected  with 
the  old  part.  The  utmost  care  is  taken  with  this  "city  of  the  dead,"  and  there  is 
no  neglected  portion  on  the  grounds.  This  is  the  last  resting  place  of  many  a 
man  and  woman  in  that  part  of  the  county  whose  efforts  have  made  Vermilion 
County.  Here  rests  the  body  of  a  revolutionary  soldier  as  well  as  that  of  the 
later  wars. 

A  careful  and  exhaustive  list  of  those  buried  in  the  old  part  gives  the  fol- 
lowing names,  and  date  of  death. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  county  where  the  early  settlers  lived,  the  bury- 
ing grounds  are  filled  with  interest.  That  of  Vermilion  grove  speaks  the  story 
of  faithfulness  to  home  ties  and  devotion  to  family  interests  by  the  many  of  the 
same  name  to  be  found  in  the  graves.  The  Haworths,  the  Mills  and  the  Rees 
family  all  rest  together  as  they  lived  together  in  the  Vermilion  Grove  and  Sha- 
ron cemeteries.  A  careful  list  of  these  markers  has  been  obtained  through  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Bertram  Rees  and  follows : 

VERMILION    GROVE    CEMETERY. 

1.  Elizabeth  Harrell,  wife  of  Elwade  Harrell;  died  March  16,  1869.     Age, 
46  years,  6  months,  n  days. 

2.  Thomas  Hester;  died  November  10,  1875.    Age,  79  years. 

3.  Mary,  his  wife;  died  November  5,  1867.    Age,  69  years. 

4.  J.  B.  McGown,  Col.  63d.  Reg.  111.  Volunteers;  died  November  21,  1868. 
Age,  50  years. 

5.  Perry  Mote;  died  October  8,  1872.    Age,  49  years. 

6.  James  C.  Walker;  died  March  30,  1856. 

7.  Joseph  Maddock;  died  May  n,  1860. 

8.  William  Green;  died  February  19,  1875.    Age,  49  years. 

9.  Elvin  Haworth;  died  August  22,   1885.     Age,  70  years,  4  months,   18 
days. 

10.  Almeda  Haworth,  wife;  died  January  2,  1876. 

11.  Aaron  Mendenhall;  died  I2th  month,  20,  1872.     Age,  61  years. 

12.  Elizabeth  Mendenhall;  died  1886.     Age,  65  years. 

13.  Nathan  Elliott;  died,  1874.    Age,  nearly  64  years. 

14.  Naoma  Elliott;  died,  1886.    Age,  67  years. 

15.  Elizabeth  Rees,  ist  consort  of  James  Rees;  died  2d  month,  12,  1842. 
Age,  27  years. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  386 

16.  John  Rees ;  born  June  7,  1801 ;  died  November  29,  1854. 

17.  David  Haworth;  born  January  28,  1813;  died  July  24,  1876. 

18.  Mariam,  his  wife;  born  June  12,  1809;  died,  March  14,  1894. 

19.  John  M.  Mills,  born  August  4,  1817;  died  March  i,  1845. 

20.  Elizabeth,  his  wife;  born  September  14,  1818;  died  April  18,  1904. 

21.  John  Larrance;  died,  1837.    Age  41  years. 

22.  Ruth,  his  wife;  died  January  22,  1876.    Age,  79^  years. 

23.  John  Mills;  born  7th  month,  30,  1774;  died  9th  month,  19,  1846. 

24.  Charity  Mills;  born  gth  month,  20,  1777;  died  nth  month,  5,  1858. 

25.  Win.  Mills;  died  March  17,  1872.    Age,  73^  years. 

26.  Hannah,  his  wife ;  died  April  12,  1847. 

27.  Jane  B.,  his  wife;  died  May  2,  1880. 

28.  Thomas  Haworth;  died  March  4,   1885. 

29.  Susannah  Rees,  wife  of  John  Rees;  died  March   18,   1892.     Age,  80 
years. 

30.  Rachel  Rees;  died  January  5,  1892.    Age,  72. 

31.  Jenuince  Rees;  died,  1886. 

32.  Deborah  Rees;  died  September  9,  1885.    Age,  87  nearly. 

33.  Labon  Rees;  died,  1878.    Age,  22  years. 

34.  William  Rees;  died,  3d  month,  17,  1890.     Age,  70  years,  n  months,  I 
day. 

35.  John  W.  Parker;  died  August  23,  1896.     Age,  85  years,  2  months. 

36.  Hannah  Parker;  died  July  26,  1890.    Age  78  years,  9  months. 

37.  Wm.  C.  Morris;  born  December  16,  1822;  died  October  i,  1904. 

38.  Sarah,  his  wife;  born  January  21,   1828;  died  December  25,  1898. 

39.  John  M.  Elliott;  died  November  6,  1892.     Age,  52-10-14. 

40.  John  Mendenhall;  died  May  3,  1897.     Age,  87^  years. 

41.  Richard  Mendenhall;  died  5th  month,  24,  1889.    Age,  67. 

42.  William  Hester;  died,  1899.    Age,  61  years. 

43.  Silas  Mendenhall;  May  23,  1829;  died  January  25,  1908. 

44.  Isaac  P.  Lewis;  died  May,  1885.    Age,  81. 

45.  Asenath  H.  Mendenhall,  Feb.  8,  1885.    Age,  55-6-9. 

46.  Jesse  Smith;  died  April  13,  1872.    Age,  78. 

47.  Daniel  Williams;  died,  1868,  11,  18.    Age,  72  years,  8  months. 

48.  John  Haworth;  died  8th  day  of  5th  month,  1863.    Age,  84  years,  6-8. 

49.  Sicily,  his  wife,  died  3d  day  of  5th  month,  1868.    Age,  84  years. 

50.  Millican  Mills;  born,  December  27,  1814;  died  January  28,  1891.     76 
years. 

51.  Martha  R.,  his  wife;  born  April  24,  1818;  died  October  i,  1874. 

52.  William  Holaday;  died  May  5,  1880.     Age,  63-5-20. 

53.  Elizabeth  Holaday;  died  August  18,  1899.     Age,  80-1-21. 

54.  Thomas  W.  Lamb;  died  July  13,  1878;  born  February  i,  1840. 

55.  Dr.  M.  C.  Mendenhall,   1835-1905. 

56.  Wm.  Canaday;  died,  November  i,  1897.     Age,  87-10-9. 

57.  James  H.  Judd;  born,  1842;  died,  1891. 


386  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

SHARON     CEMETERY. 

Moses  Reynolds;  born  May  6,  1830;  died  November  28,  1904. 

Elvira,  his  daughter;  died  February  24,  1878. 

Wm.  McNeese;  died  August  17,  1894.     Age,  74  years. 

Lydia,  his  wife;  died  February  8,  1906.    Age.  83. 

David  R.  Smith,  1824-1904. 

David  Ankrum;  died  February  24,  1867.     Age,  69  years. 

Abagail,  his  wife;  died  February  28,  1857.     Age,  54  1/3  years. 

Allen,  son  of  above;  died  October  28,  1858. 

George  W.  Smith;  born  September  19,  1819;  died,  July  14,  1900. 

Elizabeth,  his  wife;  born  June  6,  1831 ;  died  February  2,  1888. 

John  Kendall,  Company  E,  Seventy-third  Illinois  Infantry.     No  date. 

Theodore  T.  Smith,  son  of  G.  W.  and  E.  Smith ;  died  October  9,  1864. 

Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.  M.  Kendall;  died  January  28,  1852.    Age,  35. 

Martha,  wife  of  Wm.  Hall;  died  March  12,  1849.     Age,  55  years. 

Isaac  Smith,  Jr.,  died,  1849. 

Martha  Smith;  born  February  19,  1802;  died,  1874. 

Isaac  Smith;  born  15th  day  of  8th  month,  1795;  died  March  3,  1849. 

William,  son  of  I.  and  M.  R.  Smith;  died  December  15,  1845. 

Mary  Smith,  wife  of  Isaac  Smith,  Sen. ;  died  April  24,  1840.    Age,  82  years. 

Joseph  Hackney ;  died  June  6,  1846.    Age,  68  years. 

Jonathan  B.  Smith -'died  September  29,  1838.    Age,  i  year. 

Joseph  Smith;  died  May  31,  1850.     Age.  58  years. 

NAMES   OF  THOSE    BURIED   IN    THE   OLD   PART   OF   THE   GUNDY    CEMETERY    AT 

MYERSVILLE,   ILLINOIS. 

Adams,  Sarah,  died  September  18,  1882;  age  73;  Adams,  Louisa,  died  Jan- 
uary 12,  1856;  age  19;  Bivans,  Wm.  J.,  died  August  25,  1881 ;  age  12;  Bivans, 
Robert  T.,  died  September  21,  1869;  age  2;  Bivans,  Evaline  Neff,  died  April 
27,  1887;  age  64;  Bivans,  Wm.  H.,  died  October  5,  1892;  age  68;  Beagle,  De- 
borah, died  March  18,  1847;  age  25;  Beagle,  Wm.  H.,  died  April  5,  1864;  age 
3;  Beagle,  Noah  W.,  died  February  24,  1864;  age  16;  Burtze,  Chris  John, 
died  January  14,  1874;  age  38;  Bennett,  Hannah  J.,  died  September  29,  1859; 
age  18;  Beeman,  Benjamine  R..  died  October  9,  1854;  age  10;  Briggs,  Jacob 
S.,  died  June  19,  1874;  age  2;  Briggs,  Amanda  A.,  died  September  5,  1870; 
age  3;  Briggs,  Martin  (Soldier),  died  December  18,  1876;  age  44;  Babcock. 
Hannah  D.,  died  May  30,  1884;  age  79;  Crosson,  Columbia,  died  September 
10,  1849;  age  i;  Crosson,  Susan,  died  January  8,  1852;  age  44;  Cosatt, 
Aldora,  died  November  8,  1862;  age  3;  Cosatt,  Seafayett,  died  March  19,  1863; 
age  ii ;  Chenoweth,  John,  died  November  6,  1852;  age  i;  Chenoweth,  John, 
died  August  i,  1863;  age  44;  Chenoweth,  Elizabeth,  died  August  9,  1873;  age 
55;  Chenoweth,  Alta  C.,  died  December  23,  1873;  age  i;  Chenoweth,  Walter 
E.,  died  November  n,  1876;  age  i;  Carter,  Thomas,  died  October  22,  1845; 
age  56;  Carter,  Tlord,  died  May  15,  1847;  age  27;  Clem,  George  W.,  died  May 
7,  1873;  age  15;  Cline,  James  Buck,  died  September  28,  1876;  age  5;  Cronkhite, 
Jacob,  died  February  5.  1853;  age  30;  Davison.  Mary  Bell,  died  May  24,  1861 ; 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  387 

age  6;  Davison,  Sizzie,  died  May  i,  1861 ;  age  2;  Davison,  Matilda,  died  Sep- 
tember 16,  1855;  age  25;  Davison,  Andrew  (Soldier),  died  January  24,  1869; 
age  27;  Davison,  Sarah  J.,  died  October  31,  1859;  age  9;  Davison,  Ruth, 
died  April  9,  1835;  age  26;  Davison,  Elizabeth,  died  January  31,  1839;  age  4; 
Davison,  Andrew,  died  July  10,  1842;  age  69;  Davison,  Elizabeth,  died  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1845;  a&e  67;  Davison,  Robert,  died  September  6,  1843;  a&e  3°;  Davi- 
son, Malindah,  died  July  6,  1856;  age  45;  Davison,  Robert  (Soldier),  died  May 
i,  1862;  age  18;  Davison,  Joseph,  died  November  26,  1864;  age  3;  Davison, 
John  J.,  died  March  16,  1872;  age  34;  Davison,  S.,  died  August  27,  1873;  age 
28;  Davison,  James,  died  January  3,  1875;  a&e  69;  Davison,  Elizabeth,  died 
February  25,  1879;  age  32;  Davison,  Grant,  died  January  25,  1865;  age  i; 
Davison,  Charlie,  died  1895;  age  27;  Davison,  Elwood  E..  died  1906;  age  44; 
Davison,  Willie  S.,  died  January  26,  1882;  age  15;  Davison,  Robert,  died  May 
10,  1909;  age  77;  Dayton,  Delia  J.,  died  December  29,  1890;  age  12;  Dines, 
James  (Co.  F.  4th.  111.  Car.),  died  1877;  age  60;  Eaglin,  Garret,  died  February 
19,  1869;  age  65;  Franklin,  Mary  A.,  died  February  12,  1877;  age  36;  Groom, 
Serepta,  died  January  17,  1847;  age  27I  Gilber,  Samuel  J.,  died  October  7, 
1844;  &££  I '>  Gundy,  Jacob  (a  soldier  of  the  Revolution),  born  October  13, 
1765;  died  September  24,  1845;  Gundy,  James,  died  February  22,  1840;  age 
15;  Gundy,  Thomas  (death  caused  by  lightning),  died  April  19,  1854;  age  23; 
Gundy,  Kisiah,  died  October  30,  1853;  age  49;  Gundy,  Wm.,  died  January  27, 
1857;  age  54;  Gundy,  Sally,  died  April  24,  1857;  age  53;  Gundy,  Joseph,  died 
July  9,  1853;  age  67;  Gundy,  Thomas,  died  March  26,  1881 ;  age  79;  Gundy, 
Andrew,  died  1906;  age  77;  Hinkle,  James,  died  September  i,  1844;  age  i; 
Hinkle,  Susan,' died  December  21,  1840;  age  27;  Holloway,  Z.  X.,  died  August 
6,  1878;  age  70;  Ingram,  Jesse,  died  March  28,  1881 ;  age  9;  Ingram,  Jesse  (Co. 
B.  25  reg.  111.  Inf.),  died  May  4,  1896;  age  59;  Ingram  J.  (Co.  25  reg.  111.  Inf.)  ; 
Ingram,  Harrison  H.,  died  November  27,  1866;  age  55;  Ingram,  Rhoda  J., 
died  April  2,  1884;  age  73;  Jones,  J.  P.,  died  February  18,  1893;  age  56;  Jones, 
Deborah  J.,  died  April  2,  1884;  age  73;  Kuns,  Daniel,  died  December  4,  1857; 
age  63;  Kuns,  Real,  died  August  12,  1853;  age  24;  Kerr,  Willie,  died  August 
16,  1866;  age  4;  Kerr,  Jane,  died  September  6,  1870;  age  61 ;  Kerr,  Joseph,  died 
February  12,  1872;  age  64;  Leape,  Pheba  J.,  died  April  15,  1902;  age  65;  Leon- 
ard, John  W.,  died  March  16,  1885;  age  59;  Leonard,  Charles  D.,  died 
July  4,  1888;  age  19;  Leonard,  Nettie  A.,  died  August  9,  1889;  age  26; 
Miller,  Sarah  E.,  died  June  16,  1851;  age  3;  Miller,  Thomas,  died  Au- 
gust 28,  1858;  age  4;  Miller,  Mary,  died  April  23,  1862;  age  36; 
Messick,  Henry,  died  August  27,  1845;  age  i;  Nessickm,  Noah,  died 
February  2,  1847;  age  7;  McGrady,  Samuel,  died  July  18,  1852;  age  22; 
McEwen,  Anney,  died  February  21,  1848;  age  25;  Moner,  Dorothy,  died  May 
10,  1851 ;  age  88;  Moyer,  Catherine,  died  October  8,  1855;  age  64;  Myers,  Sam- 
uel, died  April  4,  1859;  age  50;  Myers,  Webster,  died  March  10,  1874;  age 
38;  Myers,  John,  died  January  6,  1879;  age  72;  Myers,  Margaret,  died  January 
24,  1883;  age  69;  Mann,  Eve,  died  December  28,  1886;  age  61 ;  Monk,  Wm., 
died  August  7,  1879;  age  53;  Oliver,  Mary  Ann,  died  February  4,  1854;  age 
36;  Oliver,  B.  R.,  died  1894;  age  86;  Pierce,  Samantha  A.,  died  May  19, 
1871;  age  16.  Pierce,  Charles  W.,  died  May  10,  1874;  age  27;  Ray,  Mary. 


388  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

died  September  4,  1845;  a&e  25J  Ray.  Levi  M.,  died  February  2,  1851; 
age  15;  Ray,  Mary,  died  August  5,  1864;  age  15;  Rail,  Nancy,  died  October  27, 
1845;  age  15;  Ray,  Matilda,  died  January  13,  1849;  age  22J  Radebaugh,  Levi 
H.,  died  August  25,  1866;  age  4;  Radebaugh,  Margaret  F.,  died  September  14, 
r^73;  age  i;  Radebaugh,  Melissa,  died  April  17,  1807;  age  50;  Stewart,  Sarah 
Emma,  died  October  4,  1869;  age  18;  Satterwhite,  Mary  E.,  died  May  6,  1889; 
age  34;  Satterwhite,  Clarence  M.,  died  April  24,  1892;  age  10;  Smith,  Thomas 
J.,  died  November  4,  1893;  age  62;  Smith,  Anna  J.,  died  October  28,  1881 ; 
age  15;  Steen,  Wm.,  died  December  25,  1845 ;  age  16;  Steen,  Mary,  died  October 
28,  1846;  age  75;  Steen,  John,  died  June  18,  1848;  age  78;  Steen,  Mary,  died 
December  4,  1855;  age  54;  Shoneberger,  Levi  J.,  died  December  10,  1868;  age 
8;  Stevern,  Mary,  died  December  23,  1896;  age  27;  Steverns,  Franklin,  died 
February  5,  1886;  age  66;  Stevern,  Lucinda  A.,  died  September  4,  1896;  age 
64;  Shank,  Henry  B.,  died  June  17,  1878;  age  57;  Shank,  Anna  Eliza,  died 
November  26,  1900;  age  73;  Tuttle,  Ava,  died  December  30,  1867;  age  54; 
Turtle,  Mary,  died  March  22,  1879;  age  61 ;  Thompson,  Mandie,  died  Decem- 
ber 15,  1881 ;  age  2;  Thompson,  Mary  W.,  died  March  18,  1884;  age  35;  Wood, 
Rachel,  died  September  17,  1830;  Wood,  Anna,  died  June  9,  1833;  Wood,  Jane, 
died  September  8,  1839;  Wood,  Rachel,  died  June  n,  1833;  Wood,  Ethan,  died 
October  27,  1858;. age.  13^  Wood,  John  R.  (Co.  A.  21  R.  111.  Vol.)  died  Sep- 
tember i,  1862;  age  19;  Wood,  Abraham,  died  September  2,  1846;  age  44; 
Wood,  Cynthia  Ann,  died  April  12,  1851;  age  22;  Wood,  Henry,  died  January 
21,  1857;  age  62;  Wood,  Nancy,  died  July  30,  1885;  age  30;  Wood,  Andrew, 
died  January  8,  1875;  age  50;  Wood,  Henry,  died  January  9,  1900;  age  58; 
Wilson,  Thomas,  died  September  16,  1840;  age  28;  Wilson,  Julia  Ann,  died 
September  27,  1841;  age  2;  Wilson,  Juliann,  died  May  8,  1852;  age  31;  Wiles, 
Leuke,  died  December  5,  1848 ;  age  57 ;  Wiles,  Mary,  died  January  14,  1853 ;  age 
59;  Wiles,  Rebecca  Jane,  died  April  6,  1857;  age  29;  Wiles,  Andrew,  died  Sep- 
tember 7,  1871 ;  age  5;  Wiles,  Thomas,  died  September  20,  1871 ;  age  15;  Wiles. 
Meakie  A.,  died  January  29,  1874;  age  40;  Wyatt,  Thomas,  died  August  9,  1882 ; 
age  i ;  Wyatt,  Wm.,  died  1909 ;  age  68 ;  Wyatt,  Jane,  died  1888 ;  age  39 ;  Young, 
Mary,  died  November  18,  1849;  age  25;  Young,  Isaac  N.,  died  February  27. 
1864;  age  2. 


DR.   WILLIAM   FITHIAN 


MARY  HAUTWELL  CATHERWOOD 


JOSEPH  G.  CANNON 


MICHAEL  KELLY 


W.  J.  CALHOUN 


CHAPTER  XL1V. 
HEROES  AND  DISTINGUISHED  PEOPLE. 

J.   G.   CANNON W.   J.    CALHOUN J.   W.    WILKIN MRS.    MARY    HARTWELL   CATHER- 

WOOD HIRAM     W.     BECKWITH GURDON     HUBBARD SAMUEL     M'ROBERTS — REV. 

JAMES    ASHMORE HARVEY    SOWDOWSKY RT.    REV.    VICAR    GENERAL   O'REILLY — 

COL.  O.  F.  HARMON J.  C.  DAVIS MICHAEL  KELLEY. 

Every  community,  however  small,  has  its  representative  heroes.  Sometimes 
they  are  heroes  of  war,  and  sometimes  they  are  the  no  less  heroes  of  peace. 
Vermilion  County  has  these,  and  the  list  is  much  longer  than  limited  space  will 
permit  of  naming.  This  is  the  reason  that  in  compiling  this  list,  local  celebrities 
have  been  passed  and  only  those  whose  influence  was  away  from,  as  well  as  at, 
home,  have  been  mentioned. 

This  list  of  distinguished  people  is,  as  a  matter  of  course,  headed  by  the 
name  of  Speaker  Cannon.  Danville  and  Vermilion  County  are  both  better 
known  as  being  the  home  of  Speaker  Cannon,  than  in  any  other  way.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  is  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  world  of  affairs,  and  his  citizenship,  although 
more  remote,  is  none  the  less  valid.  Judge  Wilkin  was  a  citizen  of  whom  any 
community  would  be  proud  even  though  he  had  not  won  the  distinction  he  did. 
Vermilion  County  has  not  been  without  people  distinguished  in  the  world  of 
letters,  and  the  writings  of  Mary  Hubbwell  Catherwood  has  made  her  home 
place  distinguished.  Mr.  Hiram  Beckwith  was  a  recognized  historian  of  merit. 
The  state  of  Illinois  loves  to  do  him  honor.  Gurdon  Hubbard  is  a  representa- 
tive of  the  past  whose  efforts  should  not  be  forgotten.  Samuel  McRoberts  is 
one  of  the  forgotten  statesmen  of  that  period  of  national  life  which  tried  men's 
souls.  He  represents  Illinois  as  United  States  Senator.  Aside  from  the  field 
of  politics  and  letters,  there  have  been  other  walks  in  life  where  Vermilion 
County  men  have  distinguished  themselves.  Rev.  James  Ashmore,  the  evangel- 
ist and  missionary,  did  a  work  which  distinguished  him.  Vicar  General  O'Reilly 
is  another  name  which  comes  in  the  list  from  Vermilion  County.  The  hero 
whom  the  people  of  Vermilion  County  most  love,  is  Col.  Harmon,  the  popular 
citizen  who  left  his  adopted  home  to  lead  a  regiment  in  battle  where  he  lost  his 
own  life.  This  was  many  years  ago,  yet  his  memory  is  fresh  and  the  people 
are  true  in  their  devotion  to  him.  Gen.  John  C.  Black,  has  had  all  the  honor 
possible  given  him  to  attest  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow 

389 


390  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

citizens.  Michael  Kelley,  the  captain  of  industry,  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  community  for  years.  Judge  Davis  was  a  man  who  reflected  honor  on  his 
home,  and  was  held  in  highest  respect  not  only  in  his  own  community  but  in 
the  state. 

Vermilion  County  is  preeminently  an  agricultural  section.  As  such  the 
ignoring  of  a  prominent  man  in  that  line  would  be  inexcusable.  Harvey  Sow- 
dowsky  made  the  agricultural  interest  what  they  are  by  his  work  in  cattle 
breeding.  Other  men  and  women  have  been  conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of  the 
county  but  hardly  to  the  extent  as  the  above  named. 

Oscar  Fitzallen  Harmon  who  was  born  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  on  May  31, 
1827,  was  the  second  of  six  sons  of  Ira  and  Corinna  (Brown)  Harmon.  His 
mother  was  the  lineal  descendent  of  Steven  Hopkins  of  the  Mayflower.  The 
great-great-grandfather,  Tristrane  Brown,  was,  in  the  early  days  of  the  country 
a  landed  slave  holder  in  southeastern  New  York.  The  grandfather  of  Oscar 
Fitzallen  Harmon,  Solomon  Brown,  was  a  "minute  man"  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution. He  was  afterward  a  baptist  minister  in  Western  New  York.  His 
father's  first  ancestor  to  arrive  in  this  country  was  John  Harmon  of  Norfolk 
County,  Eng.,  who  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  in  1643.  He  lived  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  from  1644  until  his  death  in  1661.  Two  of  John  Harmon's  descendents, 
Samuel  and  Joseph  settled  in  Suffield  County  in  1670.  The  branch  of  the  family 
from  which  Oscar  Harmon  sprang,  lived  in  western  Massachusetts  through  the 
i8th  Century,  and  his  grandfather  Rawson  Harmon  removed  to  Monroe  County, 
New  York  in  about  1818.  He  preempted  government  land  and  settled  himself 
and  six  sons  in  the  wonderful  Genesee  valley.  Oscar  F.  Harmon,  having  been 
reared  by  parents  who  were  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  professed  his  faith  in 
Christ  and  united  with  that  church,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  About  this 
time  he  wrote  in  his  diary  (one  leaf  of  which  only  is  to  be  had)  of  his  deep  de- 
sire for  a  good  education  and  his  wish  to  enter  college.  This  privilege,  however, 
was  given  only  to  the  oldest  son  of  the  family  who  enjoyed  a  course  at  Yale  and 
afterwards  having  married,  at  Brown.  Beside  the  school  near  his  home  Oscar 
F.  Harmon  attended  school  at  Limi,  N.  Y.,  also  the  Bancroft  school  called 
Round  Top  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  His  decision  about  this  time  to  be- 
come a  lawyer  sent  him  to  the  then  celebrated  law  school  at  Ballstron,  Spa.,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  studied  for  a  year  and  a  half.  He  then  entered  the  law  office  in 
Rochester  of  Judge  Griffin  and  Judge  Darwin  E.  Smith  and  read  law  with  them 
for  another  year  and  a  half  and  on  December  3rd,  1850,  was  examined  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  at  Albany  and  granted  a  certificate  of  admission 
to  practice  as  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law.  He  taught  school  for  a  time  near 
his  home.  Deciding  to  go  west  he  visited  Detroit  and  remaining  in  La  Fayette 
for  several  weeks,  he  located  permanently  in  Danville  in  1853.  In  1854  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Illinois  Bar  and  in  1860  to  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  for  the 
Southern  District  of  Illinois.  He  then  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Oliver  L. 
Davis,  which  continued  until  the  latter  was  appointed  Judge.  Mr.  Harmon  was 
a  representative  from  the  37th  Senatorial  District  in  the  2ist  General  Assembly 


OSCAR  F.  HARMON 


JUDGE    O.    L.    DAVIS 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  391 

for  i858-'6o.  When  the  i25th  Regiment,  Illinois  Infantry,  was  formed,  Oscar 
F.  Harmon  was  made  the  Colonel.  He  led  his  men  with  unfaltering  courage  into 
all  danger  and  at  the  battle  of  Kenesaw  mountain,  met  his  death  from  a  bullet 
of  the  enemy.  Never  was  there  a  more  brave  soldier,  nor  commander  whom 
his  men  loved  better.  His  death  cast  a  gloom  over  Vermilion  County  and  his 
name  is  reverenced  with  honor. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 
TOWNSHIPS  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

FIRST    DIVISION    OF    THE    COUNTY PRECINCTS    UNDER    COMMISSIONERS'     SYSTEM 

TOWNSHIP    ORGANIZATION CHANGES   IN    BOUNDARIES DANVILLE    TOWNSHIP — 

GEORGETOWN      TOWNSHIP ELWOOD      TOWNSHIP CARROLL      TOWNSHIP VANCE 

TOWNSHIP MIDDLEFORK      TOWNSHIP PILOT      TOWNSHIP ROSS      TOWNSHIP — 

NEWELL  TOWNSHIP BLOUNT  TOWNSHIP CATLIN  TOWNSHIP GRANT  TOWN- 
SHIP— BUTLER  TOWNSHIP OAKWOOD  TOWNSHIP SIDELL  TOWNSHIP JA- 
MAICA TOWNSHIP LOVE  TOWNSHIP. 

At  the  second  meeting  of  the  Commissioners'  court  Vermilion  County  was  di- 
vided into  two  sections.  The  reason  for  this  division  is  not  at  this  time  apparent. 
There  may  have  been  some  political  advantage  in  this  division,  or  it  may  have 
been  but  for  convenience  of  some  other  kind.  This  was  in  1826,  and  township 
organization  was  not  effected  until  twenty-five  years  later. 

This  division  was  determined  by  the  center  of  town  18. 

All  of  Vermilion  County  south  of  this  line  was  in  Carroll  township  and  all 
north  of  it  was  called  Ripley  township.  This,  of  course,  did  not  include  the  at- 
tached territory  north  of  Vermilion  county.  No  record  gives  the  reason  for  either 
the  division  nor  for  the  names  given  to  these  sections.  It  was  in  1850  that  town- 
ship organization  was  adopted  in  Vermilion  County. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors  in  1851,  the  eight  members  present 
were  from  the  eight  precincts,  as  organized  under  the  commissioners'  system. 
These  precincts  were  named  as  follows :  Danville,  Georgetown,  Elwood,  Carroll, 
Union,  Vernon,  Middlefork,  and  Northfork. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  November  10,  1851,  these 
precincts  were  recorded  as  townships  and  named  as  follows :  Danville,  George- 
town, Elwood,  Carroll,  Vance,  Pilot,  Middlefork,  Ross  and  Newell. 

Since  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors  was  held  in  the  preceding 
June,  the  division  of  the  original  precincts  and  renaming  of  the  townships  must 
have  been  made  at  the  time  of  this  first  meeting'.  Those  present  at  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  board  of  supervisors,  were  the  following:  John  Canaday,  William 
Davis,  William  Spicer,  L.  T.  Catlett,  Samuel  Partlow,  J.  A.  D.  Sconce,  Asa  Dun- 
can, John  Hoobler  and  Michael  Oakwood. 

The  townships  remained  the  same  number  until  five  years  later  when  Blount 
township  was  formed  from  Newell  on  the  east  and  Pilot  on  the  west.  This  di- 

392 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  393 

vision  was  made  because  of  the  presence  of  the  two  streams,  the  North  Fork  and 
the  Middle  Fork,  which  made  barriers  between  the  neighbors  and  handicapped 
the  transaction  of  official  business.  In  1858  a  new  township  was  laid  off  from  Dan- 
ville, Vance,  Carroll  and  Georgetown,  and  named  Catlin.  This  name  was  chosen 
because  of  the  village  of  that  name.  Grant  township  was  taken  from  Ross  in  1862. 
Butler  township  was  organized  from  the  extent  of  territory  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  county.  This  was  in  1864.  Sidell  township  was  organized  from  a  por- 
tion of  Carroll  township  in  1867.  It  was  named  for  John  Sidell.  Jamaica  town- 
ship was  organized  in  1890  from  parts  of  Carroll,  Sidell  and  Vance.  Love  town- 
ship was  organized  from  Elwood,  in  1902.  The  census  of  1910  gives  Vermilion 
County  177,966  population. 

DANVILLE   TOWNSHIP. 

Danville  township  remains  the  same  territory  that  it  was  in  the  first  formation 
of  townships.  As  the  territory  containing  the  county  seat  this  township  has  been 
pretty  well  considered  in  former  pages.  The  story  of  Danville  township  is  very 
nearly  the  story  of  Danville  itself.  This  was  true  of  the  first  half  century  at 
least,  although  other  towns  have  sprung  up  since  and  now  Danville  township 
means  more  than  Danville  and  the  farms  surrounding  it.  The  population  of  Dan- 
ville township  outside  of  the  city  is  8,362. 

The  original  plan  of  the  present  city  of  Danville  included  Main  street  from  per- 
haps about  Franklin,  on  the  west  to  Hazel  on  the  east  and  from  the  river  on  the 
south  to  north  of  North  street  on  the  north.  Within  the  memory  of  some  of  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Vermilion  county  the  lots  north  and  west  of  where  the  Pres- 
byterian church  is  located  was  a  vast  cornfield.  The  old  log  building  which  was 
known  as  the  Gilbert  tavern  with  its  old  sign,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times, 
hanging  from  a  tree  near  by,  gave  place  to  the  more  pretentious  Pennsylvania 
House,  and  its  rival  the  McCormack  House,  to  in  due  course  of  time  make  way  for 
the  modern  hotel.  So  it  is  the  old  buildings  have  all  made  way  for  the  new  ones 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church  building  and  the  par- 
sonage where  Father  Kingsbury  lived  during  his  service  to  that  church,  these  two 
buildings  yet  standing  on  South  Walnut  street.  The  historic  corners  of  the  public 
plaza  are  now  covered  with  modern  buildings.  The  court  house,  rapidly  becoming 
in  itself  of  little  merit  other  than  historic,  covers  the  place  where  the  former  court 
house  stood.  The  old  Hubbard  building  gave  place  to  the  Danville  office  building 
known  as  the  Daniel  block  some  years  ago;  the  old  Shorts  Bank  corner  has  had 
a  modern  building  on  its  site  for  several  years  while  the  First  National  Bank 
building  yet  makes  a  good  showing.  The  Palmer  National  Bank  has  but  this  sum- 
mer built  a  new  and  handsome  building  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  plaza 
where  they  have  been  established  for  several  years.  The  Temple  building,  the 
Baum  building  and  the  Second  National  Bank  building  are  all  of  recent  con- 
struction and  buildings  of  which  any  city  might  be  proud.  A  number  of  beauti- 
ful houses  have  been  put  up  during  the  past  half  dozen  years.  The  Lindley  house 
on  North  street,  the  Kimbrough  house  on  North  Vermilion  street  and  the  Powers 
home  on  North  Vermilion  street  are  perhaps  the  finest  resident  property  in  Dan- 


394  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

ville.     The  new  government  building  will  be  a  great  addition  to  the  city.    It  is 
located  on  the  site  of  Judge  Davis'  home,  on  Vermilion  street. 

The  early  buildings  of  Danville  have  all  been  lost  to  view  these  many  years 
with  the  exception  of  the  old  Presbyterian  church  and  Rev.  Kingsbury  house, 
both  on  the  west  side  of  south  Walnut  street.  Other  old  land  marks  which 
existed  for  a  long  time  have  all  been  transformed  into  modern  buildings.  There 
was  the  old  log  tavern  which  Solomon  Gilbert  built  on  the  west  end  of  Main 
street.  This  was  a  pretentious  house,  for  the  time,  and  no  criticism  was  due 
with  its  sign  swinging  from  the  limb  of  a  tree  near  by.  Everything  which  would 
tend  to  recall  that  familiar  house  of  early  day  is  long  since  passed  out  of  sight 
of  the  interested.  Even  the  tree  and  all  its  descendents  have  been  converted  into 
ashes  and  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  the  heavens.  This  hostelry  gave  place 
to  the  old  Pennsylvania  House  and  its  rival,  the  McCormack  House.  The  Penn- 
sylvania House  stood  on  Vermilion  street  and  the  McCormack,  was  on  west 
Main  street  between  Walnut  and  Franklin  streets. 

GEORGETOWN    TOWNSHIP. 

Georgetown  township  lies  in  the  second  tier  of  counties  from  the  southern 
border  of  Vermilion  county.  It  has  the  Indiana  state  line  as  the  eastern  bor- 
der. The  Vermilion  river  runs  across  its  northeastern  corner  for  about  five 
miles  with  a  bed  so  deep  down  as  to  drain  the  surrounding  country.  The  Little 
Vermilion  makes  a  short  turn  in  its  southern  border.  This  township  was  im- 
portant territory  in  the  first  years  of  the  life  of  Vermilion  County,  the  two 
most  used  roads  of  this  part  of  the  state  running  through  it.  The  road  known 
as  the  state  road  from  Vincennes  to  Chicago  ran  directly  through  the  township 
and  the  "Salt  works  road"  over  which  the  product  of  the  salt  works  was  hauled 
into  the  settlements  of  western  Indiana,  ran  directly  across  Georgetown  town- 
ship. The  Cairo  division  of  the  N.  Y.  Central  lines  runs  through  the  town  fol- 
lowing and  parallel  to  the  old  state  road.  This  road  was  formerly  known  as 
the  Paris  and  Danville  road,  the  John  Short  road,  and  the  Danville  &  South- 
western R.  R. 

Georgetown  township  was  originally  all  timber,  and  it  attracted  early  set- 
tlement. The  heavy  timber,  the  good  water  supply,  the  general  lay  of  the 
land  and  its  nearness  to  the  salt  works  all  tended  to  draw  settlement  that  way. 
Later  the  third  portion  along  the  western  border  and  from  the  center  of 
prairie  land,  made  this  township  one  of  fine  farms.  The  first  settlement  was 
made  by  Henry  Johnson,  in  1820,  on  section  36,  just  two  miles  west  of  George- 
town. This  was  the  year  that  James  Butler  made  his  home  at  what  was  after- 
wards known  as  Butlers  Point. 

Achilles  Morgan  came  to  Vermilion  County  and  became  a  settler  of  this 
township  in  1825.  This  immediate  neighborhood  was  called  Morgans,  Mor- 
gantown  and  Morgans  Neighborhood. 

Brooks  Point  (now  Kelleyville)  was  settled  about  this  time.  This  town- 
ship was  blessed  with  a  large  number  of  the  Society  of  Friends  coming  into  it 
and  bringing  their  institutions.  It  was  the  part  of  the  county  which  in  the  early 
times  made  greatest  promise  of  merchantile  progress. 


THE   TEMPLE   BUILDING,  DANVILLE 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  395 

The  class  of  people  who  settled  in  Georgetown  township  were  such  as  ap- 
preciated the  value  of  schools.  The  Georgetown  seminary  was  the  institution 
which  helped  in  the  advancement  of  education  more  than  any  other  school  in 
this  part  of  the  state  at  that  time. 

Georgetown  village  was  laid  out  in  the  spring  of  1826,  two  months  after 
Danville  was  surveyed.  The  first  plat  contained  four  blocks  of  eight  lots 
each.  The  only  two  streets  were  State  street,  running  north  and  south  and  was 
a  portion  of  the  old  state  road,  and  West  street  which  crossed  it  at  right  angles. 
The  plan  of  the  village  was  the  idea  of  a  hollow  square  such  as  was  followed 
in  the  plat  of  Danville  and  some  of  the  other  early  villages.  There  is  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Georgetown.  Some 
think  it  was  named  for  George  Beckwith,  the  brother  of  the  man  whose  name 
was  given  to  Danville;  while  others,  with  as  much  reason  probably,  assert  that 
Mr.  Haworth  gave  the  town,  which  he  was  laying  out,  the  same  name  as  that 
of  his  son  who  was  a  cripple.  The  first  building  in  Georgetown  was  a  doctor's 
office,  the  next  house  was  a  blacksmith  shop. 

ELWOOD    TOWNSHIP. 

Compiled  by  Bertham  Rees. 

As  to  extent,  Elwood  township  is  only  a  shadow  of  what  it  was  once, 
but  without  its  history,  the  history  of  the  county  or  state  w.ould  not  be  com- 
plete, for  it  still  contains  some  very  noted  places,  noted  men  and  some  of  the 
best  and  most  productive  farms  in  the  county.  Before  the  division,  Elwood 
comprised  all  of  town  17,  range  n,  west  of  the  second  P.  M.,  a  fraction  of 
range  10  and  two  tiers  of  sections  off  the  east  side  of  range  12,  making  almost 
\l/2  congressional  townships.  The  voters  of  the  north  end  of  the  township 
made  complaint  because  of  having  so  far  to  go  to  vote  so  that  a  strip  i  mile 
wide  was  set  off  of  the  north  side  and  given  to  Georgetown  township. 

Later,  by  petition  of  the  residents,  the  eastern  half  of  the  township 
(except  sections  26  and  34)  was  set  off  as  a  separate  township  and  named 
Love  township  in  honor  of  Judge  I.  A.  Love  of  Danville,  who  was  the  legal 
adviser  in  making  the  change.  That  portion  of  the  Harrison  purchase  which 
before  had  been  a  part  of  Elwood  was  retained,  although  from  the  way  it 
lays  it  should  more  properly  come  in  Love  township. 

Three-fourths  of  the  land  now  comprising  Elwood  township  is  deep  rich 
black  loam  soil  and  sufficiently  rolling  to  make  the  best  farms.  The  Little 
Vermilion  river  runs  across  the  northwest  corner  cutting  off  about  il/2  sections 
and  it  is  along  this  stream  that  the  only  waste  land  in  the  township  is  found. 
About  the  only  timber  in  the  township  is  found  in  this  region.  It  was  in  this 
region  that  the  first  settlers  made  their  homes,  it  being  thought  foolish  at  that 
time  to  get  away  from  the  streams  and  timber  to  make  settlements,  as  the 
streams  furnished  water  and  the  timber  furnished  fuel. 

The  mineral  value  of  the  township  so  far  as  developed  is  very  limited.  It 
is  known  that  most  of  the  township  is  underlaid  with  a  good  quality  of  bitu- 
minous coal  but  as  yet  there  are  no  workings  within  its  limits.  Several  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  locate  oil,  but  as  far  as  can  be  learned  no  oil  or  gas 


396  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

in  paying  quantities  have  been  found.  Some  claim  there  is  a  ledge  of  lime- 
stone in  the  northwest  corner,  but  nothing  has  developed  along  that  line.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  soil  is  the  chief  asset  of  the  township  to  date. 

The  history  of  the  settlement  of  Elwood  township  is  closely  connected  with 
the  history  of  this  entire  section  of  the  country.  A  great  number  of  places 
in  the  south  part  of  the  county  were  settled  about  the  same  time.  The  first 
settlements  within  the  township  were  Vermilion  Grove,  Pilot  Grove  and  Ridge- 
farm.  The  names  given  these  places  were  given  them  on  account  of  some 
natural  characteristic  of  the  country.  The  name  Vermilion  came  from  the 
Vermilion  river  which  runs  nearby  and  on  account  of  a  post  office  farther 
south,  being  named  Vermilion.  When  the  post  office  here  was  established,  it 
was  called  Vermilion  Grove,  being  located  in  a  natural  grove. 

Pilot  Grove  was  so  named  on  account  of  a  grove  located  on  higher  ground 
than  the  surrounding  country  and  served  as  a  pilot  for  travelers  through  that 
section  in  early  days. 

Ridgefarm  was  the  name  given  by  Abram  Smith  to  his  farm  located  where 
the  town  now  stands  and  was  so  named  because  of  the  rise  in  the  ground  that 
forms  a  ridge  extending  across  the  township  from  east  to  west. 

Vermilion  Grove  is  the  oldest  settlement  in  the  township  and  its  history 
dates  back  to  1820  when  John  Malsby  came  from  Indiana  and  built  a  cabin 
just  northeast  of  where  the  public  school  building  now  stands,  but  finding  the 
country  so  new  and  wild  went  back  to  Indiana. 

George  Bocke  came  about  the  same  time  and  took  a  claim  but  on  account 
of  the  ponds  and  swamps  and  malaria  which  were  abundant,  he  with  his  fam- 
ily moved  on  to  Brooks  Point,  after  having  sold  his  claim  to  John  Haworth 
who  became  the  first  permanent  settler  in  the  locality.  Mr.  Haworth  was  a 
Quaker  or  Friend,  as  they  are  now  called,  and  thus  was  begun,  amongst  the 
hardships  and  privations  of  pioneer  life,  the  foundation  for  the  broad  and  sub- 
stantial influence  of  the  Friends  in  Illinois. 

Mr.  Haworth  left  Tennessee  in  1818,  to  get  away  from  the  institution  of 
slavery  and  out  from  under  its  effects.  He  went  to  Union  County,  Indiana, 
and  came  here  in  1821  and  wintered  in  the  house  built  by  Mr.  Malsby.  He  was 
a  cousin  of  James  Haworth  who  settled  soon  after  near  Georgetown.  He  did 
not  undertake  farming  his  land  by  raising  grain,  but  raising  stock  seemed  more 
profitable.  Mr.  Haworth  entered  many  hundred  acres  of  land  but  did  not  hold 
it  to  speculate  on,  but  sold  it  to  his  friends  as  they  came  into  the  new  country. 

George  Harworth,  an  uncle  of  John,  came  soon  after  and  was  instrumental 
in  establishing  the  first  meeting  in  the  township.  Thus  the  Friends  church 
which  has  had  so  much  influence  on  the  history  of  the  township  and  surround- 
ing country,  had  its  small  beginning.  A  log  church  was  soon  built  near  where 
the  present  brick  structure  stands. 

Elvin  Haworth,  a  son  of  John  Haworth,  lived  all  his  life  on  the  well  known 
Haworth  farm  and  during  his  life  contributed  much  to  the  church  and  school, 
leaving  the  bulk  of  his  land  to  Vermilion  academy  by  will  at  his  death. 

Henry  Canaday  came  from  Tennessee  in  1821  and  built  a  cabin  one-half 
mile  west  of  the  station,  but  his  boys  could  not  stand  the  wildness  and  all  moved 
back  to  Tennessee.  They  soon  regretted  the  move  and  tried  it  again  in  the  fall. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  397 

determined  to  settle  down  and  make  the  new  country  their  home.  During  the 
first  trip,  so  the  account  goes,  they  brought  some  hogs,  which,  when  they  went 
back,  were  turned  loose  in  the  woods  and  became  wild.  These,  together  with 
other  wild  game,  furnished  good  sport  for  any  inclined  to  be  a  Nimrod  for 
years  afterward.  John  Mills  was  another  early  settler  here,  but  went  farther 
west  entering  the  land  where  the  Mills  descendants  now  occupy. 

Thus  many  settlers  came  and  began  the  foundation  for  a  strong  church,  a 
splendid  school  and  a  prosperous  and  substantial  farming  community.  The 
hardships  and  privations  were  great,  but  out  from  this  toil  and  suffering, 
sprung  the  institutions  which  the  people  of  this  community  now  enjoy,  and 
many  do  not  fail  to  ascribe  the  honor  and  tribute  to  those  who  wrought  and 
fought  for  the  splendid  heritage. 

The  first  school  in  Vermilion  County  was  taught  by  Reuben  Black  who 
came  from  Ohio,  in  the  winter  of  1824-5.  It  was  in  a  log  house  one  mile  west 
of  Vermilion  Grove.  John  Mills  sent  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  Joseph 
Jackson  sent  two  children,  Ezekiel  Hollingsworth  sent  four  children,  Henry 
Canaday  sent  his  son  William,  John  Haworth  sent  his  sons  Thomas,  David  and 
Elvin.  This  made  14  scholars  in  all.  The  branches  taught  were  spelling,  read- 
ing, writing  and  arithmetic.  The  second  school  was  taught  by  Elijah  Yeager, 
a  Methodist  minister  from  east  Tennessee,  two  years  later,  in  a  cabin  one  mile 
northeast  of  Vermilion  station.  The  house  was  built  of  logs,  16  feet  square.  It 
was  certainly  one  of  the  old  timers  of  which  some  of  us  have  heard  our  fathers 
tell.  But  the  old  house  soon  became  inadequate  and  the  needs  of  the  fast  grow- 
ing community  demanded  a  better  building.  In  1850  a  frame  structure  was 
built,  30x52,  with  two  recitation  rooms  properly  furnished.  This  was  called 
Vermilion  seminary.  Jonah  M.  Davis  was  employed  as  principal  and  school 
opened  with  no  students.  The  following  branches  were  taught:  Geography, 
algebra,  chemistry,  geometry,  surveying,  history,  mineralogy,  philosophy,  read- 
ing, writing,  spelling,  elocution  and  Latin.  Mr.  Davis  continued  here  for  five 
years,  and  was  certainly  one  of  the  best  educators  of  his  day.  Many  of  the  (now) 
old  men  who  reside  in  this  and  surrounding  communities  date  their  education 
back  to  this  old  seminary. 

Vermilion  academy  of  today  is  really  the  continuation  of  the  old  seminary. 
It  was  established  in  1874,  by  the  Society  of  Friends  and  has  continued  under 
their  management  to  the  present  time.  The  first  board  of  trustees  chosen  con- 
sisted of  William  Rees,  John  Henderson,  Richard  Mendenhall,  John  Elliott, 
Jonah  M.  Davis  and  Elvin  Haworth.  A  two  story  brick  building,  46x60,  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  The  brick  for  the  building  were  burned  on  the 
ground,  thus  reducing  the  cost  to  the  minimum.  For  the  maintenance  of  the 
school  $10,000,  consisting  of  50  scholarships  of  $200  each  were  subscribed. 
The  owner  could  pay  the  interest  at  7%  on  this  scholarship  each  year  which 
would  constitute  the  tuition  for  one  scholar  for  one  year.  If  he  had  no  chil- 
dren of  school  age,  he  could  sell  the  scholarship  to  some  one  who  wished  to  at- 
tend school. 

It  was  the  aim  then,  and  still  is,  to  offer  a  better  opportunity  for  a  liberal 
academic  education,  under  purer  and  more  Christian  influences  than  is  com- 
monly afforded  by  the  public  high  schools.  While  it  is  under  the  supervision  of 


398  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Friends  church,  yet  it  is  not  sectarian.  The  fact  that  Vermilion  academy  has 
stood  and  still  stands  for  noble  manhood  and  womanhood,  is  strongly  attested 
by  the  large  number  of  men  and  women  scattered  far  and  wide,  who  have 
graduated  and  gone  from  its  influence. 

Out  of  166  graduates  who  have  gone  out  from  the  institution,  96  have  at 
sometime  since  graduation  taught  in  the  public  schools,  33  of  them  have  gradu- 
ated at  higher  institutions,  eight  have  gone  to  their  long  home  and  all  the  others 
have  and  are  meeting  the  problems  of  life  in  a  way  that  reflects  credit  on  their 
teachers  and  alma  mater. 

The  original  town  of  Ridgefarm  was  platted  for  record  November  10,  1853, 
by  Abraham  Smith,  and  consisted  of  thirteen  lots  beginning  ten  feet  west  of 
the  west  side  of  the  state  road  and  eight  feet  south  of  the  county  road.  The 
same  year  Thomas  Haworth  laid  out  and  recorded  an  addition  west  of  the 
state  road  and  north  of  the  county  road.  On  the  2/th  of  February,  1856, 
Thomas  Haworth  laid  out  his  second  addition  of  seventeen  lots.  On  the  ist 
of  December,  1854,  J.  W.  Thompson  laid  out  his  first  addition,  east  of  the  state 
road  and  south  of  the  county  road,  eight  lots ;  and  in  August,  1856,  his  second 
addition  of  thirty-two  lots.  On  April  u,  1856,  Abraham  Smith  made  his  third 
addition  of  six  lots.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1857,  Thomas  Haworth  laid  out 
his  third  and  fourth  addition.  In  November,  1872,  A.  B.  Whinnery  laid  out  an 
addition  of  two  blocks  near  the  Big  Four  Railroad,  and  soon  afterwards  es- 
tablished a  flourishing  business  and  for  a  number  of  years,  that  part  of  town 
was  the  main  business  center.  On  the  5th  of  April,  1873,  R.  H.  Davis  platted 
his  sub-division  of  section  30.  In  April,  1872,  J.  H.  Banta  platted  his  addition 
of  four  blocks  east  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad  and  April  15,  H.  C.  Smith  platted 
an  addition  east  of  the  state  road.  Soon  after  the  town  was  laid  out  by 
Abraham  Smith  he  built  a  frame  store  room  near  where  the  armory  now  stands 
and  conducted  a  general  store.  Nearby  Samuel  Weeks  built  a  blacksmith  shop. 
Thomas  Haworth  built  a  store  room  near  where  the  post  office  now  is,  and 
rented  it  to  another  man  who  put  in  a  stock  of  hardware.  John  Dickens  built 
a  tavern  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  square.  About  1857,  Weeks  and  Price 
put  up  a  building  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  square  and  used  it  for  a  drug 
store.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  say  that  these  old  buildings  have  long  since 
been  removed  and  imposing  brick  structures  occupy  the  most  prominent  places, 
while  the  last  resting  places  of  the  men  who  built  the  old  buildings  are  marked 
by  simple  stone  slabs  in  Pilot  Grove,  Vermilion  Grove  and  Ridgefarm  ceme- 
teries. 

With  the  building  of  the  railroad  in  1873-74  business  increased  and  several 
business  ventures  found  location  near  the  railroad.  A  large  flouring  mill  was 
built  there  at  that  time  by  Davis  Brothers,  which  was  considered  one  of  the 
best  mills  in  the  country  and  did  the  mill  work  for  a  large  scope  of  country. 
The  mill  was  purchased  by  Banta  &  Coppock  and  afterward  Mr.  Coppock  sold 
to  A.  J.  Darnell  and  he  to  A.  B.  Whinnery.  An  extensive  grain  business  was 
built  up  and  when  it  fell  to  younger  men,  W.  F.  Banta  became  the  proprietor, 
and  he,  being  very  successful,  retired  from  business  in  1907,  the  National  Elevator 
Co.,  of  Indianapolis,  having  purchased  the  entire  business  of  Mr.  Banta.  This 
included  a  large  number  of  elevators  at  other  places.  There  were  a  great  num- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  399 

ber  of  other  business  ventures  which  were  successful  and  which  have  been 
transferred  to  younger  men  who  now  conduct  them  in  a  profitable  and  courteous 
manner.  We  might  mention  the  lumber  yard  which  for  many  years  was  con- 
ducted by  Adam  Mills,  who  afterward  became  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  his  death.  The  mercantile  business  con- 
ducted by  A.  B.  Whinnery  was  for  many  years  the  leading  business  of  the  kind 
in  south  Vermilion  County,  but  as  trade  is  transient  and  buyers  are  always 
seeking  new  things  to  satisfy  their  fancy,  and  as  Mr.  Whinnery  grew  older, 
Tiis  trade  was  largely  changed  to  his  competitors  who  employed  new  and  up-to- 
date  business  methods.  A.  J.  Darnell  became  the  leading  merchant  but  at  this 
time  no  one  could  long  hold  a  monopoly  of  the  trade.  Mr.  Darnell  did  well 
however,  and  left  a  large  estate. 

The  hardware  business  was  chiefly  left  to  J.  P.  Tuttle  who  with  his  son  still 
conducts  a  very  extensive  trade  in  that  line.  Others  have  come  and  gone  but 
Tuttle  stays.  Many  others  might  be  mentioned  but  space  and  time  forbids. 

A  petition  for  the  incorporation  of  the  village  of  Ridgefarm  under  the 
general  incorporation  act,  signed  by  Uriah  Hadley  and  others,  was  filed  in  the 
county  court  on  the  3d  of  March,  1874.  The  petition  proposed  the  following 
limits  to  the  village:  The  S.  W.  l/4  of  sec.  30  and  the  N.  W.  l/4  of  sec.  31,  town 
17,  range  n,  and  the  S.  E.  %  of  25  and  the  N.  E.  ^  of  sec.  36,  town  17,  range 
12,  embracing  i  mile  square  of  territory ;  and  it  set  forth  that  there  were  within 
said  limits  350  inhabitants.  The  court  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  at  the 
store  of  J.  C.  Pierce  on  the  2ist  of  March,  1874,  to  vote  on  the  question  of  in- 
corporation. George  H.  Dice,  R.  H.  Davis  and  J.  H.  Banta  were  appointed 
judges  of  the  election.  At  that  election  fifty-one  votes  were  cast,  forty-nine  for 
incorporation  and  two  against.  The  proposition  to  incorporate  having-  thus  car- 
ried, the  court  ordered  another  election  to  be  held  on  the  22d  of  April,  to  vote 
for  six  trustees  to  serve  until  the  regular  election  in  course  of  the  law.  At  this 
election  J.  H.  Banta,  M.  A.  Harrold,  T.  C.  Rees,  A.  J.  Darnell,  A.  B.  Whinnery 
and  Moses  Lewis  were  duly  chosen  trustees.  The  trustees  on  May  i,  organized 
by  electing  A.  J.  Darnell,  president,  and  T.  C  Rees,  clerk  They  adopted  a 
set  of.  ordinances  and  fixed  the  compensation  of  officers;  trustees  to  have  $1.00 
per  meeting ;  treasurer,  one  per  centum ;  collector,  two  per  centum,  and  assessor 
$1.50  per  day.  The  offices  of  collector  and  assessor  were  afterwards  dispensed 
with.  At  the  regular  election  in  1875  the  following  were  elected :  President, 
M.  A.  Harrold ;  A.  B.  Whinnery,  A.  M.  Mills,  C.  Lewis,  S.  Haworth  and  H.  R. 
Craven,  trustees;  T.  C.  Rees,  police  magistrate;  James  Quinn,  clerk;  E.  Good- 
win, constable.  The  village  has  enjoyed  a  constant,  steady  growth  since  its  in- 
corporation. It  has  never  had  what  is  generally  known  as  a  "boom"  but  has 
quietly  plodded  along  until  now,  residents  claim  a  population  of  about  1,400 
people.  Among  the  many  large  and  commodious  residences  of  the  village  at 
the  present  might  be  mentioned  those  of  William  F.  Banta,  S.  H.  Brown,  John 
Brown,  Isaac  Woodyard,  Mrs.  Addle  Guffin  and  many  more  almost  imposing 
and  beautiful  Ridgefarm  is  noted  for  its  fine  homes. 

In  church,  professional  and  business  lines,  Ridgefarm  has  the  following 
list :  i  elevator,  i  lumber  yard,  i  implement  firm,  i  light  and  ice  plant,  i  cream- 
ery, i  furniture  store,  4  grocery  stores,  2  general  stores,  i  dry  goods  and  clothing 


400  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

store,  2  hardware  stores,  2  restaurants,  i  drug  store,  i  millinery  store,  i  jewelry 
store,  i  printing  office,  i  paper,  I  garage,  2  banks,  2  blacksmith  shops,  2  butcher 
shops,  i  candy  kitchen,  i  harness  shop,  i  livery  barn,  2  railroads,  i  interurban, 
i  grist  mill,  i  building  and  loan  association,  3  barber  shops,  i  tile  mill,  I  high 
school,  4  churches,  5  doctors,  i  dentist,  2  veterinary  doctors,  i  lawyer  and  2 
telephone  exchanges  and  no  saloons.  A  fine  Carnegie  library  has  just  been  com- 
pleted and  is  ready  for  occupancy.  This  building  stands  where  the  old  Meth- 
odist church  stood  years  ago.  A  new  school  building  is  under  course  of  con- 
struction. This  when  completed  will  be  the  largest  and  best  high  school  build- 
ing in  eastern  Illinois  outside  the  large  cities.  It  will  cost  over  $30,000.  Mr. 
Frank  Pribble  the  contractor  is  a  Ridgefarm  boy  and  has  been  very  success- 
ful in  contract  work. 

Pilot  is  only  a  settlement,  but  is  the  most  historical  place  in  Elwood  town- 
ship because  it  is  in  this  neighborhood  that  the  famous  Harrison  purchase  be- 
gins. The  northern  point  of  this  triangular  piece  of  land  lies  just  north  of  what 
is  known  as  Locust  Corner  school  house.  Harrison  negotiated  with  the  Indians 
for  a  large  tract,  beginning  at  this  point,  the  east  side  of  which  is  a  line  running 
from  this  rock,  on  a  certain  day  of  the  year,  toward  the  10  o'clock  sun,  the 
western  line  running  toward  the  i  o'clock  sun  and  terminating  in  the  northern 
part  of  Crawford  County,  thence  east  to  the  Wabash.  The  east  line  terminates 
at  the  Wabash  river  a  few  miles  north  of  where  it  becomes  the  boundary  of  the 
state.  The  part  that  belongs  to  Elwood  township  extends  one-half  mile  below 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  township,  running  parallel  with  the  southern 
boundary.  Just  why  this  extention  into  Edgar  County,  has  not  been  explained. 

And  at  one  time  there  was  a  small  grove  near  the  center  of  the  township 
known  as  Pilot  Grove  which  in  later  years  has  been  cleared  and  the  ground  is 
now  farmed,  there  being  only  a  few  acres  remaining.  It  is  now  known  as  the 
Fowler  farm. 

There  is  only  one  village  within  the  borders  of  Pilot.  It  has  a  two-room 
school  building,  a  church,  a  bank,  a  grain  elevator,  two  or  three  stores  and  a 
dozen  dwelling  houses. 

There  have  been  several  postoffices  in  the  township  on  what  was  known  as 
"Star"  routes.  These  were  known  as  Oak,  Charity  and  Bixby.  Since  the  ad- 
vent of  the  free  rural  deliveries  these  postoffices  have  been  abandoned  and  the 
east  end  of  the  township  is  served  by  a  rural  carrier  out  of  Collison,  the  north 
side  from  carriers  out  of  Potomac  and  Armstrong,  the  south  from  carriers  out 
of  Ogden,  Fithian,  Muncie  and  Oakwood,  thus  the  township,  practically  being 
inland,  has  a  good  rural  route  system. 

The  Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.,  cuts  across  the  eastern  part  of  the  town- 
ship and  near  the  place  known  as  Collison  point.  A  village  is  located  on  the 
Thos.  A.  Collison  place  and  is  known  as  Collison.  The  Villa  Grove  branch  of 
the  same  system  touches  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township  where  is  located 
a  small  store,  a  school  house  and  an  elevator  which  is  known  as  Gerald.  It  has 
no  postoffice  and  is  practically  only  a  cross-roads  place. 

The  whole  township  is  practically  inlaid  with  drainage  tile.  The  principal 
crops  now  are  corn,  oats,  clover  and  grass.  Grass  is  not  as  profitable  as  it  was 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  401 

several  years  ago  when  large  herds  of  cattle  were  seen  grazing  on  the  pastures. 
The  land  is  now  given  up  to  agricultural  purposes  and  is  not  used  for  grazing. 
Cattle  grazing  has  become  obsolete.  The  cattle  that  are  now  fed  are  purchased 
at  the  Chicago  or  other  markets,  shipped  in,  fattened  and  re-shipped  to  Chicago 
to  the  packing  houses. 

Pilot  township  is  known  as  the  largest  feeders  of  sheep  in  the  county.  Fre- 
quently there  are  25,000  head  of  sheep  in  this  township.  These  are  fed  and  re- 
shipped  to  Chicago  markets. 

Most  of  the  corn  and  oats  of  the  township  are  shipped  to  other  markets.  At 
one  time  this  was  all  fed  to  cattle  as  Pilot  township  used  to  be  one  of  the  best 
feeding  places  in  the  country. 

Pilot  has  only  one  village,  Collison,  located  on  the  C.  &  E.  I.  railroad  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township  near  what  was  known  in  early  day  as  Collison  point. 

The  father  of  John  Fletcher  moved  into  this  locality  in  1828  and  the  Folgers 
soon  followed,  and  much  of  the  land  in  the  locality  still  belongs  to  the  direct 
descendants  of  those  early  settlers.  A  friends  church  was  early  established  in 
this  locality  and  is  still  kept  up.  Although  the  membership  is  small,  yet  the 
earnestness  and  zeal  with  which  the  members  carry  on  the  work,  is  a  subject 
for  comment  by  outside  people. 

Olivet  is  the  name  of  a  new  religious  and  educational  community  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  township.  This  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Old  Sharon  neigh- 
borhood, on  the  farm  at  one  time  owned  by  that  pioneer  Henry  Canaday.  Here 
within  the  past  three  years  has  sprung  into  existence  a  new  school  which  prom- 
ises to  be  of  immense  proportions.  As  stated  in  the  catalogue :  "Out  of  the  con- 
viction of  a  common  need  came  the  desire  and  prayer  of  a  few  of  God's  people  in 
this  state  for  a  school  which  would  stand  definitely  and  always  for  holiness  of 
heart  and  life.  The  answer  of  that  prayer  and  effort  is  Illinois  Holiness  Uni- 
versity." 

The  conviction  was  that  the  religious  element  is  necessary  to  education ; 
that  religious  experience  and  ethical  culture  must  come  in  the  formative  stages 
of  one's  life;  that  God  can  have  His  way  with  His  creature  man  only  when  his 
spiritual  is  in  advance  of  his  intellectual ;  and  that  the  beginning  and  developing 
of  the  spiritual  part  must  be  undertaken  in  early  life  and  conducted  from  the 
first  in  a  sane  and  safe  manner,  with  the  Bible  as  a  text  book.  To  this  end  a 
small  school  was  started  in  1907.  Later,  the  present  site  of  the  university 
grounds  was  secured  and  a  grammar  school  and  academic  departments  were 
added  in  1908.  A  college  department  was  added  in  1909  and  a  large  dormatory 
for  girls  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $30,000.  Another  large  administration  build- 
ing is  now  being  erected  at  a  total  cost  of  $50,000.  Other  buildings  are  con- 
templated. A  corps  of  12  teachers  are  in  charge  of  the  school.  Ezra  T.  Frank- 
lin is  president.  Growing  up  around  the  university  is  the  town  of  Olivet.  About 
16  houses  with  modern  equipment  are  completed.  Many  others  are  soon  to  be 
finished  for  people  coming  here  for  school  purposes.  Over  400  lots  are  platted, 
and  50  have  been  sold  within  the  past  12  months.  The  location  is  ideal  and  the 
place  is  fast  taking  on  the  appearance  of  a  modern  university  community. 


402  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

CARROLL   TOWNSHIP. 

Carroll  township  is  the  one  which  has,  more  than  any  other,  suffered  from  di- 
vision and  restriction.  Originally  it  was  that  portion  of  Vermilion  county  which 
lay  south  of  the  center  of  town  18  and  until  Jamaica  township  was  established 
the  northern  boundary  of  Carroll  remained  unchanged.  Now,  however,  not  one 
boundary  is  the  same  as  the  original  township. 

In  1826  the  townships  were  fixed  and  Carroll  became  one  of  eight,  instead  of 
two,  divisions  of  Vermilion  County.  After  that  Carroll  lost  a  portion  of  ter- 
ritory to  Georgetown  township,  and  another  portion  of  the  east  part  to  Elwood 
township.  Yet  later,  the  territory  of  Sidell  township  was  lost  from  the  western 
side.  This  was  in  1867. 

This  part  of  the  county  was  settled  quite  early.  The  Little  Vermilion  river 
runs  across  the  southern  end  and  has  numerous  branches  which  altogether  makes 
it  the  best  portion  of  the  county  for  stock  raising  because  of  the  inexhaustible 
water  supply.  This  demand  of  the  first  settlers  for  streams  of  running  water 
seems  odd  at  this  time  when  it  is  considered  a  disadvantage  to  have  such  on  a 
farm,  and  the  driven  well  has  been  made  so  easy  to  obtain.  The  timber  along 
these  streams  was  excellent  and  the  township  was  covered  for  about  a  third  of 
its  territory.  Water  and  timber,  the  two  considered  necessities,  were  plentiful 
and  good.  The  first  settlers  south  of  the  river  came  from  Palestine,  in  1820. 
Others  followed  these  and  a  little  later  there  were  settlers  on  the  north  of  the 
river.  Of  these  early  settlers  there  were  John  Myers,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Joseph  Frazier,  the  Starrs,  Moses  Bradshaw,  William  McDowell,  Abel  Williams, 
and  Robert  Dickson.  Silas  Waters,  John  Reed,  George  Barnett  and  John  Stark 
all  came  later.  The  earliest  settlers  on  the  north  arm  of  the  Little  Vermilion 
were  John  Hoag,  Samuel  Munnel,  William  Swank  and  Alexander  McDonald. 
Dr.  Thomas  Madden  was  the  first  physician  in  this  township.  Abraham  San- 
dusky  came  to  this  township  in  the  early  thirties  and  both  had  large  families. 
His  brother,  who  settled  in  Catlin  township,  grew  to  prominent  citizenship  in 
this  section. 

Michael  Weaver,  the  Baums,  and  David  Fisher  all  were  the  early  citizens 
of  this  part  of  Vermilion  county. 

The  Sidell  division  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.,  runs  through  Carroll  township.  Indianola 
has  been  a  town  of  many  names  and  little  things  of  importance  attached  to  it.  It 
was  laid  out  and  recorded  on  the  6th  of  September,  1836,  as  Chfllicothe.  It  is 
but  one  mile  from  the  Little  Vermilion  river.  David  Baird  and  William  Swank 
platted  and  made  arrangements  for  one  hundred  and  four  lots.  The  public 
square  in  the  center  of  the  platted  town  had  on  its  north  side  a  street  called 
North  street,  on  its  south  side  Main  street,  on  its  east  side,  Vermilion  street, 
and  on  its  west  side,  Walnut  street. 

These  were  the  only  streets  in  the  original  plat. 

John  Gilgis  called  for  a  resurvey  of  the  town  in  1865  but  this  did  not  change 
its  geography. 

When  Chillicothe  demanded  a  post  office  it  was  found  that  there  was  a  town 
of  the  same  name  on  the  Illinois  river,  and  a  change  of  name  was  necessary. 
This  resulted  in  calling  the  village  Dallas.  This  was  in  1844.  After  the  change 


No.  I 


Xo.  II 


No.  Ill 


NO.  rv 

SCENES  ALONG  THE  INDIAN  TRAIL 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  403 

was  made  another  postoffice  in  the  state  was  called  Dallas  City  and  Mr.  Cul- 
bertson,  the  postmaster,  was  so  annoyed  that,  without  knowledge  or  consent  of 
the  citizens,  requested  the  post  office  department  to  change  the  name' of  Dallas 
to  Indianola.  For  a  long  time  this  name  was  not  accepted  by  the  people,  and  a 
confusion  of  names  resulted.  For  many  years  Indianola  had  no  railroad  fa- 
cilities and  when  this  means  of  transportation  came  it  was  too  late  to  have  the 
village  make  use  of  it  other  than  a  means  of  seeking  trade  in  more  favored  lo- 
calities. The  village  was  established  in  1836  and  its  early  growth  was  retarded 
by  the  commercial  depression  of  the  following  year.  Those  early  days  have  as- 
sociated with  them  the  names  of  Mr.  Atkinson,  Guy  Merrill,  A.  H.  O.  Bryant, 
Dr.  Baum  and  Mr.  McMillen. 

Carroll  township  has  been  so  cut  and  divided  as  to  make  a  history  of  it  and 
one  of  other  townships  of  the  county  the  same. 

THE  OLD  INDIAN  TRAIL  ACROSS  THE  SOUTHERN  PART  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY. 

S.  Harvey  Black,  age  83,  born  in  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  1827,  came 
with  his  parents  here  and  settled  in  Carroll  township  within  a  mile  of  where  he 
is  now  standing  in  1834.  About  20  feet  to  the  right  of  the  tree  where  Mr. 
Black  is  standing  is  the  depression  of  the  old  trail  which  is  now  in  Mr.  Black's 
door  yard. 

Mr.  Black  and  wife,  formerly  Miss  Hutt,  who  came  from  Kentucky  with 
her  parents  in  1834  and  settled  near  her  present  home  and  to  her  right  a  few  feet 
was  the  old  trail.  Mrs.  Black  is  82  years  old  and  she  and  her  husband  have  been 
married  sixty  odd  years. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Black  we  are  indebted  for  the  facts  concerning  the  once 
famous  Indian  trail.  Then  can  describe  the  passing  of  the  last  few  small  bands 
of  Indians  over  the  famous  trail. 

The  numbers  are  on  the  reverse  sides  of  the  pictures. 

Nos.  i  and  2  are  the  same  place,  the  two  pictures  being  taken  at  different 
angles  looking  up  the  hill.  The  hill  where  these  were  taken  slopes  toward  the 
southeast  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Little  Vermilion  river  very  near  the  center  of 
Sec.  25,  town  17,  north  range  13,  west  of  the  second  P.  M.  In  No.  2  a  large  rock 
is  shown  at  foot  of  picture. 

No.  8  is  near  the  south  bank  of  the  Little  Vermilion  river  sloping  north  toward 
the  river  and  is  about  30  rods  south  of  Nos.  i  and  2.  Just  in  front  of  the  auto- 
mobile the  depressions  are  plainly  visible.  This  place  is  located  about  20  rods 
south  of  the  center  of  Sec.  25,  town  17,  north  range  13,  west  of  the  second  P.  M. 

Nos.  i  and  2  are  went  down  in  going  south  across  the  river  and  No.  8  where 
they  went  up  the  hill  after  crossing  the  river. 

Nos.  3  and  4  are  the  same  hill.  No.  3  is  looking  up  the  hill  toward  the  south- 
west. The  white  spot  in  the  center  of  picture  is  a  rock.  The  man  to  the  left 
hand  is  standing  in  the  depression  where  the  road  wound  around  and  up  the 
hill,  the  man  to  the  right  in  another  depression  and  man  in  center  on  the  knoll 
between  the  depressions  of  the  trail.  , 

No.  4  is  looking  down  the  same  hill  toward  the  northeast,  our  coats  lying 
in  the  depression.  This  hill  slopes  to  the  north  and  lies  near  the  center  of  the 


404  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

south  border  of  the  north  Y-I  of  the  N.  E.  j4  of  Sec.  25,  town  17,  north  range 
13  west. 

No.  5  shows  the  depressions  to  the  left  of  the  stack  of  posts  and  just  to  the 
right  of  large  tree  in  the  center  of  picture.  This  view  is  toward  the  northeast 
and  on  level  ground.  On  the  left  hand  lower  corner  and  to  the  right  of  the  tree 
is  two  plain  depressions.  From  this  place  the  trail  led  northeast  to  the  present 
village  of  Indianola. 

This  photo  locates  the  trail  near  the  center  of  the  west  line  of  the  S.  W.  J4  of 
the  S.  W.  J4  of  Sec.  19,  town  17,  north  range  12  west  of  the  second  P.  M. 

INDIAN  TRAIL. 

This  "Indian  Trail"  after  leaving  Indianola  wound  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection across  the  northwest  corner  of  Sec.  20,  through  near  the  center  of  Sec. 
19,  town  17,  north  range  12,  west  crossed  the  river  near  the  center  of  Sec.  25, 
then  along  the  north  side  of  Sec.  35  and  continued  west  along  the  north  side  of 
Sec.  34  for  one-half  mile,  then  took  a  southwesterly  course  across  Sec.  33  and 
intersected  the  Vermilion  and  Edgar  County  lines  one-half  mile  west  of  the  south- 
east corner  of  Sec.  33,  town  17,  north  range  13,  west  of  second  P.  M.  After 
reaching  Edgar  County  the  trail  continued  on  southwest  three  miles  to 

Major  Croghan  "of  the  British  army"  and  his  party  after  leaving  the  old 
French  fort  of  Guatonan  near  the  present  town  of  LaFayette,  Indiana,  came 
along  the  above  described  trail  through  the  present  site  of  Indianola  to  Sec.  7, 
town  16,  north  range  13,  west  of  second  P.  M.,  Edgar  County,  where  they  met 
the  great  'Indian  Chief"  July  18,  1765,  where  a  conference  was  held  between 
Major  Croghan  and  Chief  Pontiac  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  treaty 
of  peace  between  Pontiac  tribes  and  the  British  or  English  speaking  people. 
After  this  treaty  Pontiac  accompanied  Major  Croghan  back  over  this  same  trail 
to  Ft.  Guatonan,  Indiana. 

The  following  illustrations  of  the  old  Indian  trail  from  Kaskaskia  to  Detroit 
which  is  yet  visible  in  southeastern  part  of  the  county  tells  its  own  story. 

VANCE  TOWNSHIP. 

Vance  township  is  on  the  extreme  western  border  of  Vermilion  County.  It 
has  Oakwood  as  its  northern  boundary,  Catlin  as  its  eastern  boundary  and  Sidell 
as  its  southern  boundary.  The  Salt  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  runs  through  its 
northern  part  nearly  its  whole  length.  This  stream  was  skirted  with  timber,  but 
it  is  all  gone  at  this  time.  The  township  was  one  of  the  first  established  and  it 
was  with  one  section  less  than  a  congressional  township.  The  state  road  from 
Danville  to  Decatur  runs  through  Vance  township  keeping  as  nearly  as  possible 
one  half  mile  from  the  banks  of  Salt  Fork.  The  Wabash  railway  runs  through 
the  center  of  this  township.  The  village  of  Fairmount  is  situated  on  this  railroad 
about  one  mile  from  its  eastern  border.  There  is  an  abundance  of  building  stones 
along  this  stream,  and  ledges  of  valvaree  silicious  crop  out  on  the  prairie  near  the 
center  of  the  town  from  which  the  best  known  material  for  making  roads  and 
an  excellent  quality  of  lime  for  building  purposes  and  dressing  for  wheat  lands. 
This  stone  is  so  hard  it  will  withstand  the  destructive  elements  of  nature  and 


No.  V 


No.  VII 


No.  VIII 
SCENES  ALONG  THE  INDIAN  TRAIL 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  405 

yet  soft  enough  to  be  crushed  under  the  wheels  of  the  passing  wagon  or  even 
buggy. 

The  ridge  or  divide  between  the  Salt  Fork  and  Little  Vermilion  runs  along 
the  southern  border  of  Vance  township,  and  the  prairie  land  all  sheds  toward  the 
north,  being  freely  supplied  with  small  streams  and  branches  which  water  the 
farms  and  afford  fine  drainage.  The  surface  is  neither  flat  nor  hilly,  having  suf- 
ficient undulation  to  make  it  capable  of  tillage  all  seasons,  with  here  and  there 
small  mounds  or  easily  rising  hills  which  add  variegated  beauty  to  the  scene  no 
less  than  real  value  to  its  worth.  Originally  about  twelve  square  miles  of  its  ter- 
ritory was  timber  land,  that  being  about  one-third  of  its  present  surface. 

This  township  includes  the  finest  farm  lands  in  this  or  any  other  state.  The 
small  farm  is  the  rule  and  in  most  instances  of  these  small  farms  they  have  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  original  owners  and  their  descendants  since  they  were 
first  entered  or  bought.  The  earlier  settlements  of  Vance  township  were  made 
along  the  state  road,  or,  as  more  nearly  the  facts  in  the  matter,  these  houses  were 
built  along  the  border  of  the  timber  and  the  state  road  followed  the  settlements. 
Before  the  road  was  straightened  and  made  a  state  road  through  the  efforts  and 
influence  of  Col.  Vance,  then  in  the  state  legislature,  it  wound  in  and  out  where 
clearings  were  made.  The  railroad  was  graded  through  the  township  in  1836. 
This  grading  was  done  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Fithian.  He  foresaw  the  im- 
possibility of  the  network  of  international  improvements  being  carried  out  and 
secured  work  on  the  proposed  railroad  through  Vermilion  county  while  there  yet 
was  money  to  attain  this  object.  John  W.  Vance  was  at  the  time,  also,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature,  and  he  opposed  the  railroad  scheme  from  start  to  finish. 
This  opposition  destroyed  whatever  chance  he  might  have  had  for  political  pro- 
motion, but  his  reasons  for  this  stand  was  that  the  project  for  the  railroad  was 
so  much  in  advance  of  the  needs  of  the  times  as  to  prove  impracticable.  It  is 
well  that  he  was  honored  by  the  name  of  the  township,  for  no  more  noble  name 
was  ever  held  in  Vermilion  County  than  that  of  John  W.  Vance,  the  statesman. 
Vance  township  contained  a  part  of  what  is  now  Oakwood  township  at  the  time 
it  was  organized  and  named  for  this  man  whose  residence  was  in  that  part  of 
the  township. 

As  soon  as  the  railroad  was  located  Ellsworth  &  Co.  entered  all  the  land 
along  the  line  from  Danville  to  Decatur,  that  had  not  previously  been  taken, 
and  held  it  for  speculation.  Owing  to  the  revulsion  in  trade  during  the  next 
year  this  speculation  did  not  result  in  the  vast  wealth  anticipated. 

.  The  first  settler  in  Vance  township  was  Thomas  Osborne  who  made  a  cabin 
in  section  32,  a  mile  or  two  northwest  of  Fairmount,  in  1825.  He  was  not  a 
farmer  but  made  his  wealth  in  hunting  and  fishing.  Mr.  Osborne  staid  only  long 
enough  to  have  the  trade  in  fur  grow  less.  Mr.  Rowell  and  Mr.  Gazad  were 
"squatters"  for  a  time.  These  were  followed  by  James  Elliott,  James  French,  and 
Samuel  Beaver.  These  two  went  further  west  and  William  Davis  bought  their 
claims.  The  list  of  early  settlers  grows  longer  and  longer,  including  the  names  of 
James  Smith,  William  O'Neal,  W.  Feidler,  W.  H.  Butle  and  Francis  Daugherty. 

The  latter  came  to  this  section  in  1832  and  it  was  he  who  gave  the  name  to 
the  village  of  Fairmount.  This  village  was  established  and  named  Salina.  This 
name  was  all  right  until  the  matter  of  a  post  office  at  the  place  was  agitated. 


406  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

Then  it  was,  the  fact  became  known  that  there  was  a  post  office  by  that  name 
in  Illinois  and  the  name  of  Fairmount  was  given  to  the  village.  This  was  not 
the  first  time  a  place  in  Vance  township  was  called  by  that  name.  Some  time 
previous  to  this  the  Dougherty  farm  was  the  place  where  the  mail  for  the  people 
of  this  part  of  the  county  was  carried.  This  farm  was  so  located  on  a  pleasing 
rise  of  ground  that  it  was  called  Fairmount,  and  this  elevation  was  well  named, 
for  a  fairer  place  could  not  be  found.  When  the  name  of  Salina  was  found  im- 
possible, this  old  name  was  chosen  and  the  village  of  Fairmount  became  one  of 
the  towns  of  Vermilion  county. 

Fairmount  began  its  career  with  the  determination  to  have  no  liquor  sold 
within  its  limits.  A  struggle  just  at  first  resulted  in  the  decisive  defeat  of  all 
opposition  to  this  plan. 

There  was  a  drain  tile  factory  located  in  Fairmount  in  1880,  and  operated 
for  twenty  years.  This  was  patronized  by  the  farmers  of  Vermilion  county  and 
large  quantities  of  it  shipped  south.  The  location  of  this  plant  in  Fairmount 
saved  the  farmers  of  the  county  thousands  of  dollars  in  popularizing  draining 
which  added  to  the  value  of  the  land  in  increased  productiveness.  When  the 
large  Fairmount  dredge  ditch  is  completed  which  is  now  being  dug,  Vance  town- 
ship will  have  all  the  land  reclaimed.  Large  portions  of  Vance  township  are  un- 
derlaid with  a  good  strata  of  coal  which  is  being  worked  at  Bennett  station  two 
miles  northeast  of  Fairmount.  Another  and  a  valuable  industry  of  Vance  town- 
ship is  the  Fairmount  quarries  located  two  miles  south  of  the  village.  These 
quarries  produce  an  almost  chemically  pure  limestone  which  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  steel  also  cement  in  large  quantities  is  being  produced  from  this  stone. 
This  stone  field  is  of  several  miles  in  extent.  Of  this  several  hundred  acres  have 
been  proven  and  purchased.  The  company  which  are  operating  these  quarries 
now  (1910)  take  four  thousand  tons  out  daily  of  this  material  and  have  four 
hundred  seventy-five  to  five  hundred  employees  on  the  pay  roll. 

Vance  township  is  one  of  the  smallest  of  Vermilion  County  but  has  no  less 
than  sixteen  miles  of  hard  roads  and  in  the  near  future  will  have  all  wagon  roads 
as  fine  as  any  city  pavement. 

Fairmount  is  the  only  village  in  the  township  and  has  a  thousand  inhabitants. 
It  has  a  graded  high  school  employing  six  teachers.  It  has  four  churches,  two 
elevators,  several  good  stores,  lumber  yard  and  the  ever  indispensable  blacksmith 
shop.  Fairmount  is  one  of  the  best  lighted  villages  in  the  country ;  residences 
and  streets  lighted  with  Presto  light  or  acetelyne  gas. 

MIDDLE   FORK   TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  called  Middle  Fork,  lies  in  that  part  of  Vermilion  County  where 
the  three  main  branches  of  the  Vermillion  river  unite  and  form  that  stream. 
Middle  Fork  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Butler,  east  by  Ross,  south  by 
Blount  and  Pilot,  and  west  by  the  county  line.  At  the  time  of  organization 
this  township  included  not  only  all  of  Butler  township  but  all  of  that  part 
of  Ford,  running  up  to  the  Kankakee  river,  and  was  more  than  60  miles  long. 
That  was  in  1851.  There  was  not  an  inhabitant  north  of  what  is  now  known  as 
Blue  Grass  Grove,  where  a  few  families  had  collected  around  Horse  Creek. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  407 

These  people  refused  to  recognize  the  authority  vested  in  Danville  some  75  miles 
to  the  south.  When  Richard  Courtney  was  elected  assessor,  in  1852,  he  deter- 
mined to  enforce  the  law,  and  went  into  this  neighborhood  to  assess  the  property. 
He  was  met  with  defiance  on  the  part  of  the  people  which  went  to  the  extent  of 
the  women  attacking  him  with  brooms  and  other  feminine  articles  of  warfare. 
A  determination  to  do  his  duty  under  the  law,  however,  made  him  stand  firm 
and  after  securing  the  help  of  a  lawyer,  who  lived  there,  to  make  the  assessment. 
Middle  Fork  township  contained,  originally,  about  twelve  sections  of  timber 
land,  which  was  more  in  the  form  of  pretty  well  defined  groves,  with  little  of 
undergrowth,  and  hazel  brush  patches  which  later  grew  into  timber  land,  than 
of  what  is  generally  called  timber.  This  timber  is  about  all  gone  at  this  time, 
however.  The  main  branch  of  the  Middle  Fork  passes  nearly  through  the  town- 
ship until  its  junction  with  Bean  creek,  when  it  turns  southwest  and  passes  into 
Pilot  township.  Along  the  Middle  Fork,  after  leaving  the  main  body  of  timber 
on  the  south,  were  Collisons  Point,  Colwell  timber,  Partlows  timber,  Douglas 
Moore  timber,  and  Buck  Grove.  The  Blue  Grass  branch,  which  comes  from  the 
north,  joining  the  main  branch  near  Marysville,  had  Bob  Courtney's  grove  and 
Blue  Grass  Grove  on  it.  Merritt's  Point  was  on  Bean  creek  as  were  other  early 
homes  of  the  early  settlers  who  were  eager  to  take  advantage  of  the  combined 
shade  and  shelter  and  good  water  for  their  cattle.  Of  all  the  territory  of  the 
northern  part  of  Vermilion  County,  none  offered  a  better  opportunity  for  com- 
fortable homes  than  did  Middle  Fork  township.  Many  of  the  early  settlers  made 
their  homes  along  the  creek  bottoms  seeking  at  once  protection  from  the  imagined 
terrors  of  the  prairie,  and  the  convenient  water.  Without  exception  such  fami- 
lies were  subject  to  sickness,  severe  and  fatal.  This  fear  of  the  prairies  seems 
hardly  to  be  credited  now,  yet  to  the  early  settler  they  were  of  but  one  use,  there 
was  no  doubt  that  the  prairies  of  Illinois  would  never  have  other  use  than  to 
pasture  great  herds  of  cattle  which  would  roam  over  them,  as  the  herds  do  over 
the  vast  pampas  of  South  America.  The  streams  through  the  pieces  of  timber 
were  peculiar  in  one  respect.  When  the  first  settlers  came  these  streams  seemed 
to  have  worn  no  channels  for  the  water  courses.  Every  -little  rain  spread  them 
out  into  great  ponds.  Whether  it  was  owing  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  soil, 
or  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  or  causes,  they  did  not  wear  deep  chan- 
nels. Wherever  there  was  an  obstruction  as  a  fallen  tree,  the  water  poured  over 
and  made  a  deep  pond  or  hole,  which  remained  deep  the  year  around.  In  these 
deep  places  large  fish  were  caught  and  many  and  startling  are  the  fish  stories, 
even  yet,  told  of  the  fish  caught  in  Middle  Fork  township. 

One  of  the  singular  things  about  the  grass  found  on  the  prairie  when  the  first 
settlers  came,  was  the  fact  that  it  was  without  seed  or  any  means  of  propagation. 
When  it  was  once  killed  by  any  means,  or  circumscribed  in  any  way,  it  could  not 
by  any  process  spread.  It  was  impossible  to  spread  it.  It  was  the  more  strange 
because  Nature  has  never  given  another  case  of  the  actual  absence  of  the  quality 
of  propagation.  When  this  native  grass  was  destroyed.  Nature  furnished 
another  covering.  Several  thousand  acres  of  Kentucky  blue  grass  which  lay 
around  and  through  the  Blue  Grass  Grove  in  Middle  Fork  township,  was  found 
by  the  earliest  settlers  and  seemed  unaccountable.  Many  accounted  for  its  pres- 
ence by  thinking  the  Indians  had  brought  the  seed.  This  belief  was  cherished 


408  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

until  after  the  nature  of  grasses  was  more  generally  known.  Blue  grass  is  as 
much  a  native  product  as  is  the  prairie  grass.  The  Pottawatomie  and  Kickapoo 
Indians  had  this  grove  as  a  habitat.  They  had  cultivated  in  their  own  way,  a 
small  patch  of  corn  which  had  destroyed  the  prairie  grass  and  blue  grass  ran  "in" 
as  is  said.  The  actual  spot  where  the  corn  was  planted  was  but  a  small  portion  of 
the  space  where  the  native  grass  was  destroyed,  for  the  entire  place  where  the 
Indians  lived  and  kept  their  horses,  made  the  same  conditions  for  the  spread  of 
the  other  native  grass  supplied  by  Nature,  and  the  vast  space  was  covered  with 
blue  grass.  This  is  the  simple  cause  for  the  presence  of  the  vast  blue  grass  pas- 
ture found  in  Middle  Fork  township.  The  first  settlers  found  corn  growing  here 
so  recently  had  it  been  the  home  of  another  race.  No  plow  was  known  to  Indian 
farming.  The  corn  was  planted  in  hills  a  little  closer  than  it  is  now,  and  was  hoed 
by  the  women  and  hilled  up  very  much  in  the  way  potatoes  are  cultivated  in  small 
gardens.  The  following  year  the  corn  was  planted  in  hills  between  those  the  first 
year  and  the  soil  which  had  been  hoed  up  around  the  the  last  year's  planting  was 
hilled  around  the  new.  The  only  variety  of  corn  they  planted  was  the  spotted 
ears,  red  and  white.  When  the  corn  was  harvested  it  was  put  into  a  cave  dug  in 
the  dry  knolls.  Here  it  was  buried  until  it  was  wanted. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  in  Middle  Fork  in  1828  by  Mr.  Partlow,  and 
his  grown  family  from  Kentucky.  Michael  Cook,  William  Bridges,  Mr.  Gray, 
and  John  Smith  (plain)  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  section.  This 
particular  John  Smith  was  a  singular  man  and  always  signed  his  name  in  this 
manner.  There  was  a  John  Smith  in  the  county  who  always  signed  his  name 
John  Smith  (Eng.)  and  this  other  man  of  the  same  name  made  his  signature  in 
this  way.  After  Gurdon  Hubbard  went  to  Chicago  there  was  a  strong  drawing 
of  Vermilion  County  people  toward  the  north  of  that  direction,  and  many  of  the 
citizens  of  Middle  Fork  township  went  to  Milwaukee  and  Galena.  Few  of  these 
bettered  themselves,  however.  Charles  Bennett  settled  at  Collisons  Point  in  1828. 

The  first  school  taught  in  the  township  was  by  Rev.  Ryman,  being  in  a  house 
four  miles  west  of  Myersville,  about  1842.  In  1835  a  county  road  was  estab- 
lished through  Rossville  and  Blue  Grass  from  the  state  line,  west.  A  few  years 
after,  this  was  known  as  the  Attica  road.  Thomas  Owens  bought  a  farm  and 
moved  a  house  on  section  16,  and  commenced  keeping  a  tavern.  A  store  and 
postoffice  soon  followed,  and  a  blacksmith  shop  was  started.  Blue  Grass,  as  the 
little  burg  was  called,  was  a  busy  and  promising  place  until  the  era  of  railroads, 
where  neighboring  villages  secured  the  new  means  of  transportation  and  out- 
stripped it  in  the  race  for  distinction. 

The  postoffice  at  Blue  Grass  was  established  in  1843  an<i  John  Carter  ap- 
pointed postmaster.  This  was  the  only  postoffice  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
county  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  hundred  people  standing  there 
when  the  mail  came  in.  In  1850,  John  Carter  and  George  Small  laid  out  and 
platted  a  town  which  consisted  of  two  blocks,  one  on  each  side  of  the  county 
road.  The  La  Fayette  Oil  Mill  Co.  built  a  flax  warehouse  there  and  for  some 
years  Mr.  Hartwell  run  that  and  did  a  thriving  business.  Hartwell,  Scott  &  Mc- 
Daniels,  Groves  &  Butler,  Henderson  &  Lee,  and  Davis  &  Hall,  successively,  sold 
goods  in  Blue  Grass.  During  and  after  the  close  of  the  civil  war  trade  was 
good,  these  firms  selling  as  much  as  $25,000  per  year. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  409 

The  Havana,  Rantoul  &  Eastern  R.  R.  (narrow  gauge)  runs  through  the 
township  from  east  to  west,  a  mile  south  of  its  center.  Mr.  Gifford,  the  president 
of  the  company,  lived  in  Rantoul.  He  went  to  Blue  Grass  in  1874  and  asked 
for  a  stock  subscription  of  $2,000  per  mile.  The  citizens  had  heard  a  lot  of  rail- 
road talk  before  and  had  not  much  confidence  in  this,  but  subscribed  some  $16,- 
ooo.  The  road  was  completed  to  Alvan  by  Christmas,  1876,  and  from  Alvan  to 
Lebanon  in  1878,  and  from  Rantoul,  west  to  LeRoy  in  1879.  Marysville  was 
built  upon  the  prairie,  but  at  the  time  of  its  being  built,  was  pretty  nearly  sur- 
rounded with  timber.  John  Smith  (plain)  was  the  first  man  here,  but  Isaac 
Meneley,  Mr.  Morehead  and  Robert  Marshall,  who  were  living  on  the  other  side 
of  the  creek,  soon  came  to  help  him  make  a  town  here.  When  the  village  was  a 
certainty,  and  a  name  was  sought,  it  was  found  that  both  Mr.  Smith  and  Mr. 
Meneley  had  wives  whose  given  names  were  Mary,  and  it  was  decided  to  call  the 
new  village  for  these  two  women  and  Marysville  was  the  name  it  has  ever  since 
borne.  When  it  became  a  postoffice  this  name  had  to  be  changed  to  Potomac. 
At  the  February  term  of  the  county  court,  in  1876,  a  petition  was  presented  by 
Rigden  Potter  and  thirty-seven  others,  asking  for  the  organization  of  Marysville 
under  the  act  for  the  incorporation  of  villages,  with  the  following  bounds :  com- 
mencing at  the  southeast  corner  of  section  3,  town  21,  range  13;  thence  north  to 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  section;  thence  west  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
east  one-half  corner  of  the  northeast  one-fourth  of  said  section ;  thence  south  to 
the  north  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  railroad;  thence  west  along  said  right  of 
way,  40  rods ;  thence  south  40  rods  to  the  center  of  Main  street ;  thence  east  along 
the  center  of  Main  street,  27  rods;  thence  south  to  south  line  of  said  section; 
thence  east  to  place  of  beinging.  The  petition  set  forth  that  there  were  within 
said  proposed  bounds  323  inhabitants.  An  election  was  called  for  April  2,  when 
fifty-seven  votes  were  cast,  forty-six  of  them  being  for  incorporation. 

Marysville  has  lately  been  lost  in  the  name  of  Potomac,  and  the  artesian  wells 
of  the  section  has  made  it  famous. 

Armstrong  is  another  of  the  villages  of  Middlefork  township.  It  is  located  on 
the  H.  R.  &  E.  R.  R.,  four  miles  west  of  Marysville.  It  was  platted  in  1877  on 
land  belonging  to  Thomas  and  Henry  Armstrong. 

PILOT  TOWNSHIP. 

No  section  of  the  country  in  this  part  of  Illinois  presents  a  more  attractive 
view  than  that  occupied  by  Pilot  township.  Pilot  is  one  of  the  original  town- 
ships reported  by  the  committee  appointed  to  divide  the  county  into  townships, 
in  December,  1850.  It  has  the  name  then  given.  The  committee's  report,  sub- 
mitted on  the  27th  of  February,  1851,  bounded  the  township  as  follows:  Begin- 
ning at  the  southeast  corner  of  section  34,  in  town  20,  range  12,  go  north  to  the 
east  corner  of  section  3  in  said  town ;  thence  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section 
33,  town  21,  range  12;  thence  north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  section  21  in  said 
town  21 ;  thence  west  on  the  section  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  22,  in 
town  21,  range  14 ;  thence  south  on  the  county  line  to  the  southwest  corner  of  sec- 
tion 34,  town  20,  range  14 ;  thence  east  on  the  south  line  of  town  20,  to  the  place 
of  beginning.  Since  that  time  the  township  has  undergone  some  changes  in  bound- 


410  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

ary,  the  principal  one  being  the  two-mile  slice  from  the  south  side  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  Oakwood  township  in  1868.  At  present  it  is  bounded  as  follows :  Begin- 
ning at  the  southeast  corner  of  section  20,  town  20,  range  12,  go  north  one-half 
mile;  thence  west  one-fourth  mile;  thence  north  one  and  one-half  miles;  thence 
west  to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  17  in  said  town;  thence  north  two  miles; 
thence  west  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section  35,  town  21,  range  13;  thence  north 
two  miles ;  thence  west  one-half  mile ;  thence  north  one  mile ;  thence  west  to  the 
county  line ;  thence  south  on  the  county  line  to  the  southwest  corner  of  section  22, 
town  20,  range  14;  thence  east  to  the  point  of  starting.  From  these  boundary 
lines  it  will  be  seen  that  Pilot  now  contains  sixty-five  and  one-eighth  square  miles ; 
that  it  is  ten  miles  from  east  to  west  in  its  longest  portion ;  that  it  is  seven  miles 
wide,  and  that  it  lies  mostly  in  ranges  13  and  14,  only  a  small  portion  being  in 
range  12.  Pilot  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Middle  Fork  township,  on  the  east  by 
Blount,  on  the  south  by  Oakwood,  and  on  the  west  by  Champaign  County.  It 
occupies  the  middle  of  the  western  side  of  Vermilion  County. 

The  surface  of  this  township  is  undulating,  or  gently  rolling,  in  the  central 
part.  In  the  south  and  southwest  portions  the  tendency  is  to  flatten  out  and  be- 
come too  level.  Along  the  eastern  edge  we  have  the  brakes  of  the  Middle  Fork. 
There  is  a  high  portion  of  the  township  which  is  known  as  California  Ridge.  It 
is  the  water-shed  between  the  waters  of  the  Salt  and  Middle  Forks.  It  is  excep- 
tionally hig-h  ground  for  this  country,  and  has  on  it  some  of  the  most  desirable 
farms  in  the  state  of  Illinois.  Nearly  all  of  the  land  is  prairie.  There  is  some 
timber  on  the  eastern  side  along  the  Middle  Fork,  though  not  much  of  the  Middle 
Fork  timber  extends  into  Pilot  townshp,  and  there  is  a  small  grove  near  the 
center  of  the  township  known  as  Pilot  Grove.  This  point  of  timber,  away  out  in 
the  prairie,  away  from  any  stream,  and  on  the  highest  portions  of  land  in  the 
country,  very  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  early  settlers.  It  was  called 
Pilot  on  account  of  its  peculiar  situation,  this  rendering  it  a  kind  of  guide — a 
kind  of  beacon-light  to  the  explorers  of  the  prairie.  The  township  derived  its 
name  from  this  grove.  There  are  no  streams  in  Pilot  of  importance,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Middle  Fork,  which  skirts  the  edge  on  the  east,  now  in  and  now  with- 
out the  limits  of  the  township.  The  head  waters  of  Stony  Creek  take  their  rise 
in  the  western  part,  and  there  is  a  small  stream  flowing  into  Middle  Fork  from 
the  northeastern  part,  called  Knight's  Branch.  But  water  is  furnished  by 
good  wells  in  a  sufficient  quantity  for  man  and  beast,  and  is  elevated  to  the  sur- 
face by  the  power  of  the  wind,  which  in  this  country  has  free  scope,  and  is  almost 
constantly  blowing. 

There  is  no  village  within  the  borders  of  Pilot.  It  has  one  postoffice  and  store, 
but  a  village  has  not  been  laid  out.  It  is  entirely  devoted  to  agricultural  interests, 
and  these  are  well  represented.  The  soil  is  black,  deep  and  fertile.  In  some 
places  it  is  necessary  to  drain  in  order  to  secure  good  results,  but  there  is  a  greater 
portion  of  this  township  that  will  yield  good  crops  without  drainage  than  of  any 
other,  perhaps,  in  the  county.  Corn,  wheat,  oats,  flax  and  grass  are  the  principal 
products.  Cattle  and  hogs  are  grown  in  vast  numbers.  There  is  more  than  the 
usual  amount  of  grazing  and  cattle-growing.  Sheep  are  kept  quite  extensively  by 
a  few,  and  they  report  the  business  successful.  It  is  said  to  be  the  best  paying 
business  that  can  be  followed  in  this  country.  Very  little  of  the  vast  acres  of  corn 


SCKNK    IN    PILOT  CliOVK  TOWNSHIP 


SCENE  IX  PILOT  GROVE  TOWNSHIP 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  411 

are  shipped.  It  is  generally  bought  up  by  cattle-feeders  in  the  neighborhood.  A 
good  thing  in  Pilot  is  the  herd  law.  People  fence  in  their  stock  instead  of  their 
grain.  This  they  found  easier  and  less  expensive.  Vast  areas  of  corn  and  other 
grain  may  be  seen  growing  by  the  roadside,  with  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  fence 
anywhere  in  sight.  Pilot,  like  some  other  portions  of  West  Vermilion,  suffers 
socially  from  a  number  of  large  land-owners.  When  this  country  began  to  settle 
up,  men  who  realized  the  importance  of  the  movement  strove  to  get  possession  of 
large  areas,  that  they  might  have  the  advantage  of  the  rise  in  value.  The  prairies 
of  Pilot  offered  as  attractive  farms  as  any  in  the  country,  and  accordingly  we  find 
here  a  number  of  farms,  each  of  which  includes  vast  areas.  These  would  not  have 
been  as  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  community,  had  the  owners  been 
able,  in  every  case,  to  improve  them  and  keep  them  up  with  the  progress  of  the 
times.  > 

The  points  for  early  settlement  were  two — the  timber  of  Middle  Fork  and 
Pilot  Grove.  Accordingly,  we  find  settlements  made  at  the  places  at  quite  an 
early  date.  The  first  white  settler  within  the  limits  of  this  township  is  not  now 
positively  known.  So  many  conflicting  stories  reach  the  ear  that  one  cannot  posi- 
tively affirm  that  such  were  actually  the  first  persons  within  certain  limits.  It  is 
probable  that  James  McGee  was  the  first  man  in  here.  He  came,  as  near  as  can 
now  be  ascertained,  in  1824  or  1825.  The  McGees  (for  there  were  a  number  of 
them  afterward)  remained  in  the  neighborhood  for  a  long  time,  but  finally  moved 
away.  Mr.  Griffith,  we  are  told  by  some,  came  before  this  man.  Griffith  was  in 
what  is  now  Oakwood  township,  but  just  on  the  edge,  and  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. In  1827  Morgan  Rees  and  the  Juvinalls  came  into  the  township  and  set- 
tled on  the  Middle  Fork,  above  where  the  others  had  stopped.  Morgan  Rees  is 
still  living  in  Blount  township,  but  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek,  near  where  he 
settled  fifty-two  years  ago.  He  has  been  most  of  his  time  right  here,  and  is,  per- 
haps, better  acquainted  with  the  history  of  this  part  of  the  county  than  any  other 
man  living.  The  Juvinalls  were  well  known  in  this  community,  all  through  the 
years  of  pioneer  life.  The  old  man,  father  of  a  number  of  boys,  came  with  his 
family  at  the  early  date  before  mentioned.  His  first  name  was  John,  and  his  sons 
were  Andrew,  David  James,  and  John  Juvinall,  Jr.  David  and  Andrew  were 
married  when  they  came.  The  children  of  Andrew  still  live  in  the  neighboor- 
hood.  But  the  Juvinalls  came  from  Ohio.  The  Morrison  family  came  in  a  little 
farther  up,  about  the  same  time.  Morrisons  were  important  elements  in  the 
neighborhood,  but  they  finally  went  away.  William  Trimmell  came  about  the 
year  1828.  He  settled  in  the  same  neighborhood.  There  are  still  a  few  of  the 
name  found  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

ROSS  TOWNSHIP. 

Ross  township  is  one  of  the  largest  and  wealthiest  in  the  county.  In  the  origi- 
nal division  of  the  county  Ross  township  embraced  all  of  the  northeast  part  of 
the  county,  more  than  five  congressional  towns  in  all.  In  1862  it  was  divided  by 
a  line  through  the  center  of  it.  The  North  Fork  of  the  Vermillion  river  runs 
nearly  through  its  center,  from  north  to  south,  cutting  the  northern  line  a  little 
west  of  its  center,  running  in  a  southeasterly  direction  and  leaving  it  a  little  east 


412  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

of  the  middle  of  its  southern  border,  with  an  eastern  branch  which  is  joined  to 
another  branch  called  the  Jordon,  running  from  its  eastern  borders.  Bean  creek 
tuns  through  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  township,  in  a  westerly  direction. 
Numerous  small  .streams  and  rivulets,  fed  by  living  springs,  feed  these  springs, 
making  Ross  one  of  the  best  watered  sections  in  the  county.  Along  these  streams 
a  belt  of  timber  grew,  but  it  has  largely  been  cut  off. 

The  old  "Hubbard  Trace"  ran  through  Ross  township,  and  later  became 
known  as  the  state  road.  It  was  along  this  road  that  the  first  settlements  were 
made.  Ross  has  always  been  a  farming  section.  The  early  settlers  were  the 
Gundys,  Gilberts,  Greens,  Davisons,  Chenoweths,  Manns  and  Chaunceys. 

The  first  man  to  enter  land  north  of  Bicknells  Point  was  Joseph  Lockhart, 
about  1844.  Only  one  man  lived  between  Bicknells  Point  and  the  "old  red 
pump"  near  Milford  at  that  time.  Joseph  Lockhart  came  from  Harrison  County, 
Kentucky,  in  1828,  with  James  Newell. 

Ross  township  took  its  name  from  Jacob  T.  Ross  who  owned  a  tract  of  land 
in  section  9  from  which  the  timbers  for  the  old  mill  that  was  built  by  Clausson 
on  section  5,  about  1835,  were  cut  and  hewn.  He  seems  to  have  had  an  interest 
in  the  mill,  for  he  furnished  the  timbers  and  afterward  became  the  owner.  For 
a  long  time  it  was  known  as  Ross  mill  and  there  the  early  elections  and  town 
meetings  were  held,  and  very  naturally  gave  name  to  the  town,  although  there 
was  an  effort  to  call  it  North  Fork.  The  Davison  family,  and  their  relatives,  the 
Gundys,  were  the  first  white  people  to  find  a  home  in  Ross  township,  it  is  sup- 
posed, although  Mr.  Horr  and  Mr.  Liggett  may  have  been  here  a  few  months 
earlier. 

All  settlers  hugged  the  timber  line  for  the  protection  from  the  prairie.  Wild 
game  was  plenty.  Prairie  chickens  were  shot  from  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  Wild 
geese  would  be  in  abundance  on  the  prairie  in  the  spring  and  the  fall.  Deer 
were  so  plenty  as  to  be  taken  as  a  matter  of  course  and  sheep  could  hardly  be 
protected  from  the  wolves.  Farmers  made  the  trip  to  Chicago  to  market  their 
hogs  and  it  took  them  about  a  week.  Hogs  would  run  in  the  timber  until  corn 
harvesting  time  and  then  be  collected  and  fed  until  they  were  in  light  marching 
order  (fat  enough  that  they  would  not  actually  run  away  from  the  herd)  when 
they  were  started  toward  Chicago.  It  would  not  do  to  have  had  the  hogs  as  fat 
as  they  are  now,  they  could  never  have  made  the  trip.  When  the  hogs  were 
collected,  after  running  in  the  timber,  they  were  so  wild  they  would  not  eat  and 
every  possible  way  was  tried  to  make  them.  Corn  was  put  into  the  pen  when  the 
swine  were  not  there  so  that  the  stubborn  fellows  would  not  know  they  were  ex- 
pected to  eat.  It  sometimes  became  necessary  to  start  the  dogs  after  them  to  get 
them  out  of  the  timber,  and  fetch  them  in  one  at  at  time. 

When  the  division  of  Ross  and  Grant  township  was  made  the  village  of  Ross- 
ville  was  on  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  townships.  This  village  was  at  the 
point  where  the  state  road  from  Danville  to  Chicago  crossed  the  state  road  run- 
ning from  Attica,  Indiana,  to  Bloomington,  Illinois.  The  corporate  limits  of 
Rossville  include  what  at  one  time  was  known  as  Liggett's  Grove  on  the  south 
and  Bicknell's  Point  on  the  north.  It  is  eighteen  miles  from  Danville  and  six 
from  Hoopeston.  The  North  Fork  runs  about  one  mile  west  of  it.  The  land 
upon  which  it  is  built  is  beautifully  rolling,  giving  natural  advantages  of  land- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  413 

scape,  which  have  made  the  village  unusually  attractive.  John  Liggett  gave  his 
name  to  the  locality  but  his  early  death  made  it  possible  for  Alvan  Gilbert  to 
become  the  man  to  whom  the  credit  of  developing  the  section  was  given.  This 
point  was  of  unlimited  promise  until  the  LaFayette,  Bloomington  &  Mumcie  R. 
R.  was  built  through  the  northern  tier  of  townships,  instead  of  following  as 
seemed  likely,  the  old  traveled  road.  For  a  while  this  village  was  called  Bick- 
nell's  Point  and  later  it  was  known  far  and  near  as  Henpeck.  How  it  ever  re- 
ceived this  name  is  not  known.  Samuel  Frazier  of  Danville,  set  up  the  first  store 
in  "Henpeck"  in  1856  and  continued  to  sell  goods  for  four  years.  Others  located 
there  but  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1862  that  the  man  who  was  to  develop  the 
village  of  Rossville,  Mr.  Alvan  Gilbert,  arrived.  Together  with  W.  J.  Henderson 
this  man  made  the  village.  Alvan  (the  successor  of  Gilbert)  and  Henning  are 
villages  within  the  limits  of  Ross  township,  built  on  the  H.  R.  &  E.  R.  R.  which 
have  had  a  history  differing  little  if  any  from  that  of  hundreds  of  villages  in  Illi- 
nois. Alvan  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  village  of  Gilbert.  In  1872,  a  station 
was  established  on  the  Chicago  and  Danville  road  a  mile  south  of  where  Alvan  is 
now  located,  and  called  Gilbert,  in  honor  of  Mr.  Gilbert.  A  postoffice  was  estab- 
lished but  it  did  not  bear  the  name  of  the  station.  The  village  remained  known  by 
the  name  of  Gilbert  until  the  railroad  passed  through  and  a  station  was  located 
one  mile  to  the  north,  and  the  settlement  was  transferred  to  that  location.  A 
hard  feeling  naurally  followed  to  reconcile  which  the  station  was  named  for  the 
same  man  by  giving  the  given  name  of  Mr.  Gilbert  thereto.  Now,  Mr.  Gilbert 
always  persisted  in  the  spelling  of  his  given  name  with  an  "a"  instead  of  an  "i" 
and  so  it  is  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  to  this  day  between  the  people  who  live 
in  the  village  and  the  P.  O.  department  as  to  how  letters  should  be  addressed  to 
those  living  in  this  postoffice.  That  a  natural  independence  of  thought  has  been 
developed  by  this  controversy  is  without  doubt,  yet  that  this  very  independence 
might  be  carried  too  far  there  is  yet  some  fear,  since  there  is  but  one  correct  way 
of  spelling  the  word. 

NEWELL  TOWNSHIP. 

Newell  township  early  attracted  settlers.  These  came  mostly  from  Kentucky 
and  Ohio.  The  LeNeves  were  the  first  to  come  to  this  section.  Later  a  colony 
came  from  the  same  county  in  Kentucky.  This  township  gave  generously  to  the 
Blackhawk  war.  Two  of  these  commanded  companies.  They  were  George 
Ware  and  Alexander  Bailey.  Bailey's  company  was  the  largest  in  Col.  Moore's 
regiment.  Of  the  others  who  volunteered  there  were  Chas.  S.  Young,  Asa  and 
Alpha  Duncan,  James  Cunningham,  Ambrose  P.  Andrews,  Bushro  Oliver,  Obi- 
diah  LeNeve,  John  LeNeve,  William  Current,  William  G.  Blair,  Soam  Jennings, 
John  Deck,  Samuel  Swinford,  Jacob  Eckler,  Jeremiah  Delay,  and  John  Watson. 

The  Mormons  went  into  Newell  township  in  1831  but  the  year  after  the 
church  was  established  and  missionary  work.  They  had  some  converts.  Den- 
mark was  one  of  the  earliest  established  villages  in  Vermilion  County.  Seymour 
Treat  went  from  the  Salt  works  in  perhaps  1825  or  1826,  and  built  a  mill  at  this 
place.  A  thriving  village  grew  up  about  it  and  so  promising  was  it  that  Denmark 
was  a  dangerous  rival  for  the  county  seat.  The  promise  of  a  prosperous  city 
was  made  of  little  worth  all  because  of  the  liquor  sold.  Mr.  Harbaugh,  who  is 


414  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

yet  living  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  six,  gives  a  word  picture  of  Denmark  in 
1836  which  shows  the  natural  overthrow  of  its  hopes.  The  village  was  peopled 
with  a  lot  of  rough  characters,  whose  only  amusement  was  to  fight  and  drink 
more  whiskey.  Brawls  and  street  fights  were  daily  occurrences.  Religious 
services  were  almost  completely  unknown.  Now  the  only  remains  of  the  once 
flourishing  village  is  one  house.  A  bridge  spans  the  river  at  the  old  ford,  the  farm 
houses  are  of  modern  build  and  a  sense  of  peace  and  prosperity  makes  possible 
the  hospitality  of  the  old  time  inn.  The  loneliness  of  the  streets  of  Myersville  is 
almost  a  place  of  the  past  as  is  Denmark.  True  the  old  mill  is  yet  standing  but 
silent  and  forsaken  it  calls  the  passerby  in  most  pathetic  tones  of  silence.  There 
are  one  or  two  of  the  old  buildings  left,  among  them  being  one  which  suggests 
the  hospitality  of  the  old  time  inn.  The  lonliness  of  the  streets  of  Myersville  is 
inexpressible.  The  very  atmosphere  is  filled  with  memories  and  suggestions  of 
the  life  which  was  there  in  the  thirties,  the  forties  and  the  following  generations 
for  perhaps  another  decade  or  more.  But  all  have  either  moved  away  or  died 
and  been  buried  in  the  cemetery.  This  cemetery  is  unusually  well  kept  and  it 
seems  as  though  there  is  the  place  to  look  for  the  names  of  those  who  made 
Myersville  the  flourishing  village  of  the  past.  The  Gundys,  the  Davisons,  the 
Henkles,  the  Wiles,  the  Kerrs,  the  Woods,  the  Andrews,  the  Carters,  and  the 
Barges,  all  live  about  Myersville  and  must  all  be  lying  in  the  Fundy  cemetery.  As 
the  village  was  going  down  people  were  moving  away,  and  only  those  who  didn't 
have  money  enough  to  get  work  away,  were  left,  there  was  much  poverty ;  then 
it  was  that  record  is  made  of  Mr.  "Andy"  Gundy  who  was  the  most  generous  of 
men.  He  cared  for  these  people  as  though  he  felt  an  obligation  to  do  so.  Want 
was  unknown,  for  but  a  word  would  make  him  relieve  any  distress,  and  the  people 
grew  to  expect  and  look  upon  this  as  a  natural  right. 

The  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R.  was  surveyed  and  built  in  1872.  This 
branch  intersects  the  main  line  at  what  is  now  known  as  Bismarck.  Chas.  S. 
Young  and  Dr.  John  B.  Holloway  each  gave  twenty  acres  of  land  for  a  town 
site.  John  Myers  added  ten  acres,  reserving  the  alternate  lots  and  selling  the 
other  to  the  railroad.  The  village  was  laid  out  in  the  fall  of  1872.  The  first 
building  put  up  was  by  Robert  Kerr.  In  this  building  he  had  a  store  and  was 
succeeded  by  John  Leonard  and  Asa  Bushnell.  The  latter  bought  out  the  former 
and  enter  into  partnership  with  Francis  Gundy, 

Newell  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Ross,  on  the  east  by  Indiana,  on 
the  south  by  Danville  township,  and  on  the  west  by  Blount  township.  It  ern- 
braces  all  of  township  20,  range  2,  except  a  strip  on  the  west  side  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  wide,  but  includes  about  and  equal  quantity  of  range  10  on  the  east.  It 
further  comprises  all  the  sections  from  19  to  30  inclusive,  in  township  21.  range  2, 
except  the  west  half  of  sections  30  and  31,  which  belong  to  Blount,  making  an 
irregular  west  boundary  with  four  mediate  right  angles.  It  covers  an  area  of 
about  fifty-three  sections  and  is  about  eight  and  a  half  miles  from  north  to  south 
and  six  miles  from  east  to  west.  Great  quantities  of  black  walnut  timber  was  to 
be  found  in  this  section  and  was  a  source  of  great  wealth.  Stony  and  Lick  creeks 
are  the  principle  streams.  The  North  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  winds  back 
and  forth  along  the  western  border,  crossing  it  half  a  dozen  or  more  times. 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  415 

When  the  county  was  divided  into  townships  the  name  of  Riceland  was  given 
to  Newell  bt.u  was  changed  to  the  present  name  because  there  was  another  town  of 
that  name  in  the  state.  At  this  time  Newell  township  had  a  third  more  territory 
which  was  lost  when,  in  1856,  Blount  township  was  organized.  When  the  Toledo 
&  Wabash  railroad  was  built  its  western  terminus  was  the  point  in  Newell 
township  now  known  as  State  Line  City  and  Illina.  The  Great  Western  was 
built  by  another  company  and  had  a  continuation  of  the  same  route  to  the  south- 
west and  the  two  roads  formed  a  junction  here.  No  wonder  the  village  began  to 
grow.  State  Line  City  was  laid  out  in  the  spring  of  1857  by  Robert  Casement 
and  at  the  suggestion  of  A.  P.  Andrews  was  given  its  name.  Not  long  afterward 
that  part  on  the  Illinois  side  was  laid  out  by  Parker  Dresser  and  Edwin  Martin 
and  called  Illina  being  a  word  formed  from  the  first  two  syllables  of  Illinois  and 
the  last  syllable  of  Indiana.  The  railroad  company  put  up  two  engine  houses 
and  a  passenger  station  with  a  large  eating  house  attached.  Passengers  changed 
cars  and  all  freight  was  trans-shipped  here.  A  large  region,  including  the  towns 
of  Covington,  Perrysville,  Eugene,  Rossville,  Myersvijle  and  Marysville  shipped 
and  received  freight  at  this  point.  About  forty  railroad  hands  were  employed. 
Some  time  during  the  season  John  Briar  and  A.  P.,  Andrews,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Briar  &  Andrews,  built  a  general  merchandise  establishment.  These  early 
years  of  State  Line  City  and  Illina  record  the  names  of  Perrin  Kent  and  his  son, 
William,  CoL  E.  F.  Lucas,  Harvey  Barkley,  Dr.  Porter,  Robert  Craig,  and  John 
Ludlow,  Prof.  Elbridge  Marshall  established  a  manual  training  school  by  soliciting 
subscriptions  and  issuing  stock  certificates  entitling  the  holder  to  tuition  for  the 
amount  subscribed.  He  bought  ten  acres  of  land  and  put  up  a  two  story  build- 
ing, 40  by  42  feet,  in  dimensions  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  This  institution  was  named 
Evens  Union  College.  Prof.  Marshall  was  a  good  instructor,  and  he  managed 
the  school  well  and  until  he  severed  his  connection  with  it  there  was  no  com- 
plaint to  be  made  concerning  it.  In  1864  he  was  succeeded  by  Prof.  Asa  D. 
Goodwin  as  principal  all  through  the  influence  of  John  H.  Braiden.  These 
changes  became  the  fruitful  source  of  sectarian  dissension  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  school  rapidly  decreased.  Two  or  three  years  afterward  the  trustees  of  Kent 
township  bought  the  house  for  $2,700.  It  was  later  used  for  a  public  school 

In  June,  1865,  the  railroad  house  and  passenger  house  were  burned  and  the 
two  roads  having  been  consolidated,  the  engine  house  was  moved  to  Danville. 
The  town  suffered  for  this  and  perhaps  yet  more  from  the  building  of  other 
railroads,  which  cut  off  territory  tributary  to  it,  and  its  decline  was  rapid  and 
steady.  A  postomce  was  once  established  at  Walnut  corners,  which  is  thought  to 
have  been  the  first  in  Newell  township.  Ambrose  P.  Andrews  was  the  first  post- 
master. Another  postoffice  was  established  at  Myers  Mill  probably  about  1854. 
Yet  another,  called  Kentucky,  was  first  located  opposite  Pleasant  View  Church, 
and  was  kept  by  Mordecai  Wells,  a  blind  man  who  had  a  little  store  at  that  place. 
He  held  it  but  a  short  time  when  Squire  Phillip  Leonard  became  the  post- 
master, and  kept  the  office  for  above  twenty  years. 

Blount  township  was  a  part  of  both  Pilot  and  Newell  townships  when  the 
county  was  first  divided  by  township  organization.  The  two  streams,  North  Fork 
and  Middle  Fork  formed  barriers  to  interchange  of  neighborly  duties  and  the 
transaction  of  business  and  in  1856  the  supervisors  determined  upon  a  further 


416  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

division.    This  name  given  to  the  new  township  was  Fremont,  because  of  admir- 
ation of  the  dashing  general  by  that  name,  but  did  not  prove  acceptable  to  all  and 
some  one  remembered  the  kind  old  man  by  name  of  Blount  who  lived  in  this  sec- 
tion when  the  county  was  young  and  his  name  satisfied  everyone.  The  lines  which 
form  the  eastern  and  western  borders  of  Blount  township  are  quite  irregular  but 
follow  as  nearly  as  possible  within  hailing  distance  of  a  creek.    It  contains  terri- 
tory a  little  more  than  a  congressional  township  and  a  half.    The  surface  of  the 
township  is  higher  in  the  middle  and  north  where  the  prairie  lies  and  was  covered 
in  the  southern  half  and  along  its  eastern  and  western  boundaries  with  a  stalwart 
growth  of  forest  trees  of  oak,  walnut,  maples  and  here  and  there  a  beech  tree. 
These  trees  are  almost  all  destroyed.    There  has  been  a  wicked  destruction  of  the 
forest  trees  in  Vermilion  county  during  the  past  thirty  years.    There  is  a 'famous 
spring  in  Blount  township  where  there  has  been  an  effort  to  establish  a  health  re- 
sort under  the  name  of  Henrietta  Springs.    It  was  at  this  spring  that  the  Indians 
spent  much  of  their  time  when  the  white  men  came  to  this  section.    Samuel  Cope- 
land  was  the  first  settler  of  Blount  township.    The  first  schoolhouse  in  the  town- 
ship was  the  old  log  school  a  mile  east  of  Mr.  Copeland's  house.  John  Skinner  was 
the  first  teacher.    The  first  preaching  in  the  township  was  by  the  Rev.  McKain  at 
the  home  of  John  Johns.    The  Fairchild  family  came  to  Blount  township  in  1828. 
It  was  in  1834  or  1835  that  Mr.  Blount  sold  out  and  went  to  Wisconsin,  attracted 
by  the  lead  mines.    There  were  a  number  of  people  who  went  at  the  some  time. 
Hunting  was  the  principle  business  of  that  time.    Sickness  was  the  rule  and  ague, 
milk  sickness  and  fevers  of  all  kinds  kept  the  people  broken  in  spirit,  and  sapped 
their  strength,  and  energy. 

Higginsville  or  Vermilion  Rapids  as  it  was  called  in  the  plat  taken  to  the 
eastern  capitalists  in  1836,  as  yet  exists  but  entirely  shorn  of  its  glory.  No  one 
could  guess  the  beautiful  city  as  represented  to  the  would-be-purchaser  of  lots 
at  this  head  of  navigation  of  the  Vermilion  river,  was  the  poor  and  almost  de- 
serted hamlet  now  standing  on  the  Middle  Fork  in  Blount  township.  Salem 
was  another  prospective  city  which  never  was  much  more  than  on  paper.  Mr. 
Oxley  laid  out  the  village  and  there  was  a  store  and  a  tannery  as  well  as  a  doctor 
at  this  little  village  as  early  as  1837.  This  township  has  plenty  of  coal  to  gather 
but  better  facilities  to  raise  it  must  be  secured,  before  the  attempt  to  market  it 
will  be  made. 

CATLIN  TOWNSHIP. 

Catlin  township  contains  historic  ground.  It  was  near  within  the  limits  of  this 
township  that  the  first  settlement  was  made  at  the  salt  springs  in  1819,  and  but  a 
short  distance  from  there  and  within  the  township  Butler's  Point  was  settled.  This 
township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Oakwood  and  Danville  townships,  on  the  east 
by  Danville  and  Georgetown  townships,  west  by  Vance,  by  Georgetown  and  Car- 
roll townships.  This  township  was  named  Catlin  because  of  that  name  having 
been  given  to  the  village  on  the  Wabash  railroad.  Until  the  time  of  the  coming 
of  the  railroad  the  village  which  lay  to  the  west,  a  short  distance  was  called  But- 
ler's Point,  but  when  a  station  was  made,  where  the  town  is  now  located,  trade 
and  residences  drifted  to  the  better  facilities,  and  Butler's  Point  was  lost  in  Cat- 
lin. This  village  was  named  Catlin  on  account  of  that  being  the  name  of  one  of 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  417 

officers  of  the  Wabash  railroad.  Catlin  township  contains  teritory,  all  told, 
which  is  more  than  a  full  Congressional  township  and  a  quarter.  The  Salt  Fork 
of  the  Vermilion  river  runs  along  the  northern  border  of  this  township,  and  orig- 
inally had  a  belt  of  fine  timber  along  its  bank  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
width.  The  points  made  by  these  elbows  of  timber  extending  out  in  the  prairie, 
were  great  attraction  to  the  early  settlers  who  were  afraid  to  venture  out  on  the 
open  plain.  The  chief  of  these  points  was  the  one  upon  which  James  Butler  set- 
tled and  was  known  as  Butler's  Point  All  evidence  of  a  settlement  at  Butler's 
Point  has  disappeared  and  so  also  has  the  timber  which  skirted  the  banks  of  the 
old  Salt  Fork. 

Catlin  township  was  laid  off  from  Carroll,  Vance,  Danville  and  Georgetown 
townships  in  1858.  This  was  after  the  Wabash  railroad  had  been  built  for  some 
time  and  the  station  of  Catlin  located  and  built.  Along  the  southern  line  of  Cat- 
lin township  there  is  a  ridge  which  separates  the  drainage  of  the  Salt  Fork  and 
the  Little  Vermilion  rivers.  This  elevation  makes  the  water  shed  of  the  town- 
ship toward  the  Salt  Fork,  all  excepting  a  small  portion  in  the  extreme  southern 
part.  The  Wabash  railroad,  going  through  the  township,  turned  the  attention  of 
eastern  capitalists  in  this  direction,  and  settlers  were  forced  to  go  further  south 
to  get  cheap  land.  As  early  as  1850  all  the  land  north  of  the  railroad  had  been 
brought  into  cultivation  and  by  1858,  all  the  land  southwest  of  the  station  was 
taken  and  made  into  farms. 

The  location  of  Butler's  Point  was  directly  west  of  Catlin.  Asa  Elliott  was 
the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Catlin  township  and  in  Vermilion  county  as  well. 
He  came  to  Butler's  Point  in  1822.  Mr.  Woodin  was  a  cooper  and  the  nearest  to  a 
hotel  was  the  boarding  house  he  kept  where  the  price  per  week  for  board  was 
$1.50.  Hiram  Ticknor  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  school  teacher.  Rev. 
Kingsbury  came  to  this  region  to  preach  to  the  Indians  and  sometimes  would  hold 
meetings  at  the  salt  works.  The  first  Sunday  school  in  the  county  was  established 
at  the  home  of  Mr.  Asa  Elliott,  probably  about  1836.  The  deposit  of  coal  through- 
out this  county  has  developed  the  industry  of  coal  mining.  The  first  shaft  sunk 
was  by  Mr.  Hinds,  in  1862.  John  Faulds  put  down  a  shaft  in  1863  and  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  feet  below  the  surface  he  reached  a  six  foot  vein,  which  was 
at  that  time  considered  a  great  event  and  was  celebrated  by  a  grand  banquet.  This 
was  in  June,  1864.  Capt.  W.  R.  Timmons  was  called  upon  to  preside  and  G.  W. 
Tilton  sang  a  song  the  verse  of  which  he  composed.  This  mine,  which  was 
worked  for  a  while,  and  was  a  pride  to  Catlin,  would  seem  crude  enough  at  this 
time  in  comparison  with  the  modern  coal  mines  of  Vermilion  County. 

It  was  in  1856  that  Mr.  Guy  Merrill  and  Josiah  Hunt  laid  out  the  village  of 
Catlin.  The  plat  was  twelve  blocks  north  and  south  of  the  station.  At  the  same 
time  Harvey  Sandusky  laid  out  and  platted  an  addition  lying  south  of  and  run- 
ning from  the  railroad  and  west  of  the  original  towns  as  far  east  as  that  plat  did. 
On  the  i8th  of  June,  Josiah  Sandusky  platted  an  addition  between  this  last  and 
the  railroad.  April,  1858,  Josiah  Sandusky  platted  and  laid  out  his  second  addi- 
tion west  of  the  original  town.  In  1863,  J.  H.  Oakwood  laid  out  an  addition  of 
two  blocks  north  of  the  original  town  and  in  October,  1867,  Mr.  McNair  &  Co. 
laid  out  and  platted  the  coal  shaft  addition  along  the  railroad  and  west  of 
Sandusky's  second  addition.  An  election  was  held  in  March,  1863,  to  consider 


418  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

the  proposition  whether  or  not  to  incorporate  the  village  of  Catlin.  Twelve  votes 
were  cast  for  and  none  against  incorporation.  On  April,  1863,  the  election  for 
first  board  of  trustees  was  held. 

Catlin  has  always  been  a  conservative  village,  more  a  place  where  people  were 
making  homes  than  were  striving  to  advance  business  and  manufacturing  inter- 
ests. It  is  a  pretty  village  of  comfortable  homes.  The  past  generation  knew  Cat- 
lin best  as  the  place  of  the  holding  of  the  annual  fair.  After  the  Vermilion 
County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Association  was  organized  in  1850,  one  or 
more  fairs  were  attempted  in  Danville  with  little  success,  when  it  was  found  that 
Butlers  Point  was  a  more  practical  place  to  hold  this  annual  affair.  This  part  of 
the  county  was  the  home  of  the  most  of  the  fine  stock.  Forty  acres  were  rented 
and  fenced  and  a  good  track  laid  out,  buildings  were  erected  and  the  fair  at  Cat- 
lin was  an  institution  of  importance  as  long  as  the  association  remained  in  ex- 
istence. 

The  Wabash  railroad  runs  across  this  township.  It  enters  it  in  the 
northeast  corner  and  runs  in  a  southwesterly  direction  to  the  village  of  Catlin, 
thence  directly  west  to  the  limit.  The  Sidell  branch  of  the  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R.  makes 
the  western  border  of  the  township  almost  the  entire  length.  Beside  these  means 
of  transportation,  the  line  of  the  Interurban  trolley,  a  part  of  the  Illinois  Traction 
system,  keeps  Catlin  in  touch  with  Danville  by  cars  going  every  twenty  minutes 
during  the  day.  With  the  exception  of  the  strip  of  timber  which  skirted  the 
stream  in  the  northern  part,  Catlin  township  is  a  fertile  plain  where  fine  farms 
have  been  developed. 

GRANT  TOWNSHIP. 

Until  1862,  Grant  township  was  a  portion  of  Ross  township.  At  that  time 
Ross  was  found  to  be  so  large  as  to  be  unweildy  and  so  was  divided,  forming 
the  new  township.  The  name  chosen  tells  the  sentiment  of  the  people  who  had 
come  to  that  section  of  Vermilion  County.  Loyalty  to  their  country  was  ex- 
pressed in  choosing  the  name  of  the  hero  who  was  conspicuous  in  saving  that 
country.  The  naming  of  this  township  was  about  the  first  honor  to  be  accorded 
him.  This  township  has  never  had  a  changed  boundary.  Its  northern  limit  is 
the  same  as  the  northern  limit  of  Vermilion  County,  the  eastern  limit 
that  of  the  Indiana  state  line,  the  southern  limit,  Ross  township  and 
the  western  boundary,  Butler  township.  The  shape  of  the  township  is 
rectangular;  twelve  and  a  half  miles  long  by  seven  and  one-half  miles  wide. 
It  contains  58,880  acres  and  is  the  largest  township  in  Vermilion  County.  It 
is  almost  entirely  prairie  land  and  only  had  a  small  portion  of  timber  which 
was  known  as  Bicknell's  Point,  in  about  the  center  of  the  dividing  line  between 
Grant  and  Ross  townships.  This  formed  the  treeless  divide  between  the  head 
waters  of  the  Vermilion  and  those  of  the  Iroquois.  It  was  late  in  attracting  set- 
tlement, being  as  late  as  1860,  without  cultivation.  The  direct  road  between 
Chicago  and  the  south  ran  directly  through  the  center  of  this  township,  yet  it 
was  avoided  as  locations  for  homes.  Indeed,  when  in  1872,  the  railroad  was 
surveyed  through  this  township,  there  were  but  few  farms  intersected.  This 
stretch  of  open  prairie,  north  of  Bicknell's  Point,  was  a  dread  to  the  benighted 


WESLEY  BLACKFORD 


VV.  M.  TEXXERY 


MR.  AND  MRS.  AMOS  HOFF  MR.  AXD  MRS.  HIRAM  ARMANTROUT 


COL.    ABEL    WOLVERTOX 


JOHN   E.    VIXSON 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  419 

traveller.  The  first  settlements  in  Grant  township  were  made  along  the  road 
stretching  north  from  Rossville. 

As  early  as  1835,  George  and  William  Bicknell  took  up  land  at  Bicknell's 
Point  which  was  the  last  piece  of  timber  on  the  route  to  Chicago  until  the  valley 
of  the  Iroquois  was  reached.  Mr.  Lockhart,  who  came  from  Kentucky  with 
William  Newell,  was  the  man  who  first  entered  land  north  of  Bicknell's  Point. 
Asel  Gilbert  entered  a  section  of  land  south  of  Bicknell's  Point  in  1838.  Albert 
Cumstock,  B.  C.  Green,  and  James  R.  Stewart,  early  settled  near  this.  Col. 
Abel  Wolverton  settled  on  sextion  18,  in  1840,  two  miles  northeast  of  the  Point. 
He  was  probably  the  first  settler  in  that  neighborhood.  He  came  from  Perrys- 
ville,  Indiana.  He  had  been  in  the  Blackhawk  war  and  was  as  brave  in  fighting 
the  hardships  of  the  new  home  in  the  prairie  as  was  he  in  fighting  the  Indians. 
Col.  Woolverton  was  a  competent  surveyor  and  his  new  home  provided  much 
work  of  this  kind.  William  Allen  was  the  pioneer  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
township.  He  came  to  Ohio  in  1844.  Thos.  Hoopes,  from  whom  Hoopeston 
was  named,  came  in  1855  and  bought  Mr.  Allen's  farm. 

Conditions  in  this  part  of  the  county  at  this  time  is  pictured  by  Mrs.  Cun- 
ningham, then  a  child,  whose  playmates  were  "sky  and  prairie  flowers  in  the 
summer  time,  with  the  bleak  cold  in  the  winter."  A  description  of-  her  experience 
on  a  night  in  late  autumn  in  this  lonely  place,  reads :  "The  shadows  of  declining 
day  were  creeping  over  the  prairie  landscape,  when  this  child,  young  in  years  but 
older  in  experience,  as  were  the  pioneers,  stood  listening  for  a  familiar  sound.  The 
cold  wind  came  sweeping  from  far  over  tractless  wilds,  and  with  almost  resist- 
less force  nearly  drove  her  to  the  protection  of  the  house,  yet  she  stood  and 
listened  for  a  familiar  sound,  straining  her  ear  to  catch  the  rumble  of  a  wagon 
which  told  of  the  return  of  her  foster  parents,  who  had  the  day  before,  gone  to 
an  inland  town  for  provisions  to  last  them  through  the  coming  days  of  winter. 
They  had  gone  on  this  errand  some  days  before  and  were  due  to  come  back 
every  hour.  This  young  girl  had  learned  to  love  even  this  solitude,  and  while 
she  listened  for  the  sound  of  human  life  she  noted  the  lull  of  the  fierce  wind, 
the  whirring  of  a  flock  of  prairie  chickens,  frightened  from  their  accustomed 
haunts,  fleeing  by  instinct  to  the  protection  of  man.  Suddenly  a  wolf  gave  a 
sharp  bark  on  a  distant  hillside,  then  another,  and  another  and  yet  another 
answering  each  other  from  the  echoing  vastness.  With  a  shudder,  not  so  much 
from  fear  as  from  the  utter  lonesomeness  of  the  time  and  place,  she  turned  and 
entered  the  house,  but  she  could  not  leave  these  sounds  outside,  she  heard  the 
mournful  wail.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  those  sounds.  So  weird,  so  lonely 
were  they  that  the  early  settler  remembered  them  always.  The  lack  of  courage 
of  these  animals  was  made  up  in  the  increased  numbers  they  called  together, 
whether  it  was  to  attack  the  timid  prairie  hen  or  the  larger  game  of  the  open. 
Surely  these  wolves  were  fit  companions  for  the  Indians. 

The  interior  of  this  little  house  was  much  better  furnished  than  were  those 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Vermilion  County  who  came  into  other  portions  twenty- 
five  years  before  this  time.  It  was  easier  to  transport  furniture  and  the  homes 
of  this  period  were  less  primitive  in  every  way.  When  the  girl  went  into  the 
house  she  found  the  "hired  man"  had  milked  and  was  ready  for  his  supper.  He 
seated  himself  at  the  kitchen  stove  and  remarked  that  he  did  not  think  that  "the 


420  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

folks"  would  come  that  night,  as  it  would  be  very  dark  and  every  prospect  of  a 
snowstorm,  they  surely  would  not  leave  the  protection  of  the  nearest  settlement 
to  venture  on  the  prairie  that  night.  The  little  girl  busied  herself  with  tne  sup- 
per with*  grave  misgivings  about  her  people,  whom  she  earnestly  hoped  would 
venture  to  come  home,  but  whom  she  feared  would  be  injured.  She  could  not 
eat  and  going  to  the  window  she  pressed  her  face  to  the  glass  and  took  up  her 
silent  watch.  Soon  taking  his  candle,  the  hired  man  went  to  his  bed,  leaving 
the  girl  to  keep  her  watch  alone.  After  a  little,  she  imagined  she  heard  a  faint 
sound;  she  ran  to  the  door  and  threw  it  open.  As  the  door  was  flung  open 
their  faithful  shepherd  dog  bounded  in.  He  was  closely  followed  by  a  number 
of  wolves  who  were  chasing  him  and  almost  had  caught  him.  They  stopped 
when  the  light  from  the  open  door  fell  upon  them.  The  girl  hastily  closed  the 
door  and  shutting  them  out  shut  the  dog  within.  Then  all  was  silent  on  the 
prairie,  except  the  howling  of  the  wind  while  the  wolves  silently  slunk  away  in 
the  darkness.  The  girl  turned  to  the  dog  and  eased  his  mind  by  a  bountiful 
supper,  when  she  took  up  her  watch  once  more.  She  hoped  almost  against  hope 
as  she  pressed  the  window  pane,  scanning  the  horizon.  As  the  night  wore  on  the 
storm  increased  in  violence,  the  wind  drove  the  snow  in  sheets  of  blinding  swift- 
ness, piling  it  high  on  the  window  ledge,  and  obstructing  the  view  across  the 
expanse.  The  wolves  were  silenced  by  the  terrible  storm,  but  the  faithful  dog 
yet  scented  them  in  the  near  neighborhood.  The  old  clock  slowly  ticked  the 
hours  away  while  the  girl  sat  by  the  wooden  table  in  the  center  of  the  room  with 
drooping  head  and  strained  ears,  until  she  dropped  to  sleep  from  sheer  ex- 
haustion. Uneasy  were  her  dreams  as  her  slumber  was  broken  through  dis- 
comfort and  the  ever  recurring  growls  of  the  dog  at  her  feet  who  growled  at  the 
scent  of  his  pursuers.  As  the  hours  passed  the  girl  aroused  herself  and  went  to 
the  window.  The  storm  clouds  had  partially  cleared,  and  the  young  moon  had 
peeped  out  with  a  faint  light.  Casting  her  eyes  down  she  looked  into  the  pierc- 
ing orbs  of  two  wolves  who  were  standing  in  the  glare  of  the  lamplight.  The 
girl  turned  to  the  dog  and  dropping  beside  him  buried  her  face  in  his  woolly  coat 
and  bursting  into  tears  called  out,  "Taylor,  what  shall  we  do?"  With  a  growl  and 
a  glance  toward  the  opening,  which  said  as  plain  as  words,  "I'll  do  all  I  can  to 
protect  you,"  he  lay  with  his  nose  to  the  crack  in  the  door.  The  hours  wore 
away  and  the  girl  and  the  dog  watched  alone  on  the  prairie  for  the  coming  of 
the  human  beings  who  might  be  out  on  the  prairie.  Toward  dawn  the  dog 
sprang  to  her  side  with  a  low  bark  of  delight.  He  had  heard  and  recognized 
the  voices  of  his  friends,  and  was  telling  his  companion  that  those  for  whom 
they  were  keeping  vigil  were  very  near.  Soon  they  were  housed  in  safety.  A 
new  day  was  theirs  while  all  the  terrors  of  the  night  had  been  vanquished.  The 
sun  came  up,  the  deer  were  dashing  from  one  snow  bank  to  another,  the  wolves 
had  slunk  away,  the  agony  of  the  night  was  passed  away.  Such  were  frequent 
occurrences  in  the  section  of  the  country  in  and  about  Hoopeston. 

Mr.  Dale  Wallace,  in  a  talk  before  a  Hoopeston  audience,  some  years  ago. 
describes  that  village  when  he  first  saw  it.  He  went  to  this  new  village  on  the 
Illinois  prairie  a  young  man  full  of  hope  and  promise.  He  entered  the  town  on 
the  freight  train  of  the  C.  D.  &  V.  R.  R.  (commonly  called  the  "Dolly  Varden") 
which  consisted  of  six  gravel  cars  and  a  caboose.  The  conductor  stopped  his 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  421 

train  at  about  where  the  stock  yards  were  afterward  located,  and  told  the  only 
passenger,  this  same  young  man,  "This  is  where  you  get  off,  Kid."  With  the 
wisdom  of  his  years  he  said :  "I  guess  you  are  mistaken :  I  want  to  go  to  Hoopes- 
ton,"  said  the  "Kid." 

"Well,  this  is  Hoopeston." 

"Where,"  asked  the  Kid. 

"Over  there  in  the  brush,"  was  the  rejoinder. 

The  Kid  meandered  around  through  a  forest  of  resin  weeds  and  finally  halted 
at  a  little  shack  on  the  road  running  east  and  west,  which  afterwards  proved  to 
be  the  main  street.  The  shack  proved  to  be  a  department  store ;  the  front  being 
the  department,  ten  by  twenty,  it  was  filled  with  a  few  dollars'  worth  of  every- 
thing, while  the  rear  department  was  the  residence  of  the  proprietor,  who  housed 
his  wife  and  three  children.  This  establishment  was  that  of  Jonathan  Sidell, 
the  fire  merchant  of  Hoopeston.  He  was  rotund  and  hospitable  and  the  follow- 
ing conversation  was  had  between  him  and  the  "Kid:" 

"Are  you  lost?" 

"No,  I  am  not,  but  I  think  this  town  is." 

"What  did  you  come  here  to  do?" 

"Start  a  newspaper." 

" — you  are  crazy." 

"Shake.  I  have  been  thinking  that  myself  for  the  last  ten  minutes,  and  I  am 
glad  to  have  it  confirmed." 

A  few  rods  on  further  to  the  next  mud  hole,  was  a  grocery  store  run  by  J. 
W.  Elliott,  who  later  went  to  Danville.  Adjoining  this  was  a  drug  store,  by  E. 
D.  North.  On  west,  across  the  street,  was  Charley  Wyman's  real  estate  office. 
Away  up  north  opposite  the  northwest  corner  of  the  park  was  a  clothing  store, 
operated  by  J.  Fleshman.  Adjoining  was  a  grocery  store,  by  Miller  Bros.  Along 
the  railroad  track  was  Robert  Casement's  lumber  yard.  This  was  in  the  fall  of 
1871.  On  the  first  Thursday  of  January,  Mr.  Wallace,  together  with  G.  W. 
Steavey,  launched  the  Chronicle,  then  called  the  North  Vermilion  Chronicle. 
In  that  first  issue  every  business  man,  every  carpente^  painter,  etc.,  in  Hoopes- 
ton, had  an  advertisement  in  the  new  paper,  very  encouraging'  to  the  young  men 
who  had  started  it.  Roof  &  Roe,  E.  D.  North,  and  Frank  G.  Hoffman,  were 
druggists.  R.  McCracken  was  a  general  merchant.  Bedell  and  Elliott  and  Miller 
Bros,  were  grocers.  Ed.  Stamp  was  the  butcher,  S.  K.  White  had  the  livery 
stable,  G.  H.  White  was  the  real  estate  and  insurance  agent.  A.  B.  Perkins  sold 
lumber  and  coal,  Given  &  Knox  were  grain  merchants,  G.  C.  Davis  and  Moffet 
&  Kirkpatrick  were  contractors.  T.  C.  McCaughey,  M.  D.,  and  L.  W.  Anderson, 
M.  D.,  were  the  physicians.  J.  C.  Askerman  was  the  lawyer  and  B.  Saunders 
was  the  shoemaker.  This  was  four  months  after  the  Hoopes'  farm  was  platted 
into  town  lots.  Every  week  brought  new  business  men  to  town.  P.  F.  Levin 
came  early  in  1872,  also  W.  B.  Clark.  W.  W.  Duly  was  the  township  tax  col- 
lector. Before  the  year  expired  there  were  a  half  dozen  grain  buyers,  and  it 
was  not  an  uncommon  sight  in  the  fall  of  1872,  to  see  50  to  100  loads  of  corn 
waiting  a  chance  to  unload  with  buyers  paying  the  enormous  price  of  twenty- 
three  cents  per  bushel.  The  real-estate  business  was  very  active  both  in  city  lots 


422  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

and  country  property.  Land  now  worth  $250  per  acre  then  sold  for  $15  to  $25 
per  acre.  Business  lots  then  bought  for  $125  some  time  ago,  were  worth  $5,000. 
Hoopeston  grew  rapidly  and  business  enterprises  kept  pace  with  it.  About 
1872,  J.  S.  McFerrin  and  Wright  Chamberlain  established  a  bank.  J.  M.  R. 
Spinning  was  the  first  postmaster.  A  spirit  of  enterprise  pervaded  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  hustling  little  village.  About  every  thirty  days  the  enter- 
prising citizens  would  hold  meetings  and  build  factories  and  railroads  on  paper. 
The  first  year  of  existence  Hoopeston  had  a  circus  and  menagerie.  This  gave 
the  newspaper  a  chance  to  give  news.  Business  houses  multiplied  rapidly,  all 
branches  being  well  represented  by  January,  1873.  The  Chronicle  gave  a  re- 
sume for  the  year,  showing  the  erection  of  180  buildings,  27  of  which  were  busi- 
ness houses  altogether.  The  grain  men  brought  450,000  bushels  during  the 
year.  The  freight  business  of  the  "Dolly  Varden"  road  amounted  to  40,000. 
Hoopeston  has  had  a  phenomenal  growth  and  is  a  small  city  of  beautiful  homes. 

BUTLER   TOWNSHIP. 

Compiled  by  George  S.  Hoff. 

Butler  township  was  named  at  the  suggestion  of  the  first  supervisor,  in  1864, 
from  the  cock-eyed  hero  who  had  solved  the  difficult  questions  of  the  war,  each 
as  it  arose,  with  as  much  ease  as  he  would  have  settled  a  quiet  dinner  in  his  own 
house.  He  had  equipped  and  marched  the  first  brigade  of  volunteers  to  be- 
leagured  Washington  (or  had  commanded  the  march),  in  less  than  three  days 
after  notice  had  reached  him,  and  in  less  than  two  days  from  the  date  of  his  selec- 
tion by  Governor  Andrew  for  the  position.  He  had  captured  Baltimore  one 
night,  while  the  war  department  was  making  a  plan  of  attack,  which  it  was  ex- 
pected he  would  join  in  carrying  out  the  next  week.  He  had  solved  the  most 
difficult  question  of  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  negroes  who  continually  came 
into  our  lines,  under  the  constitutional  provision  requiring  the  return  of  fugitives 
owing  service  or  labor,  by  calling  them  "contraband  of  war."  He  had  hung  the  only 
rebel  that  ever  was  hung  in  America  (except  old  John  Brown  and  his  party),  and 
had  made  the  women  stop  making  faces  at  the  "boys  in  blue,"  and  had  just  se- 
cured a  peaceful  election  in  New  York  city.  Next  to  Grant,  whose  name  had 
been  applied  to  the  adjoining  township,  he  was  the  hero  of  the  day,  so  Wm.  M. 
Tennery  thought,  and  so  his  loyal  neighbors  thought  when  they  gave  his  name  to 
their  home. 

Old  Butler,  as  it  was  often  familiarly  called  by  the  inhabitants,  occupied  all  of 
the  Northwest  Corner  of  the  county,  which  is  in  township  23  north,  range  13  west 
of  the  2d  principal  meridan,  all  of  the  east  half  of  town  23,  range  14,  two  tiers  of 
sections  off  of  the  north  end  of  township  22  north,  range  13  and  six  sections  in 
the  northeast  corner  of  town  22,  range  14,  making  in  all  72  sections  or  equal  to 
two  full  congressional  townships. 

The  land  was  originally  a  vast  prairie  and  when  first  looked  upon  with  the 
longing  eye  of  the  early  settler,  the  vast  expanse  of  the  prairie  was  not  broken  by 
a  solitary  tree.  It  is  different  from  any  of  the  other  townships  in  the  county  in  this, 
and  in  the  fact  that  there  was  no  considerable  stream  in  the  township.  While 
the  land  in  this  township  measured  up  in  quality  with  some  of  the  best  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  423 

county  and  far  surpassed  much  that  was  early  taken  by  the  early  settlers,  yet  it 
did  not  come  into  cultivation  until  long  after  the  less  productive  lands  in  the 
county  were  occupied,  and  as  late  as  1872  or  even  '75  broad  strips  of  this  rich 
prairie  land  had  not  been  vexed  with  the  plough.  This  township  is  traversed 
from  east  to  west,  almost  directly  through  the  center  by  a  high  ridge;  probably 
this  ridge  is  the  highest  point  in  Vermilion  County,  and  the  township  is  drained 
with  a  gentle  slope  both  to  the  north  and  to  the  south  with  little  streams  and  rivu- 
les  which  empty  in  the  main  into  what  was  known  as  Blue  Grass  creek  and  later 
into  Middle  Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river.  While  from  the  northern  slope  the 
streams  and  rivulets  were  ultimately  gathered  into  bodies  of  water. 

It  can  but  seem  wonderful  and  must  ever  remain  in  a  great  measure  a  mystery 
how  the  land  of  such  eligible  portions  of  the  county  were  left  uninhabited  until 
long  after  the  western  half  of  the  state  and  a  greater  portion  of  Missouri,  and 
Iowa  and  parts  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were  largely  filling  up  with  settlers,  and 
the  wonder  is  that  people  who  had  settled  along  the  Middle  Fork  not  twenty  miles 
away  had  shaken  the  dust  from  their  feet  of  old  Vermilion  County  so  to  speak, 
and  moved  on  to  the  less  inviting  territory  in  the  west  when  they  could  have  found 
within  one-half  day's  ride  of  their  homes,  and  this  long  after  it  had  been  demon- 
strated that  people  could  live  in  the  open  prairie  with  less  labor  and  just  as  much 
comfort  in  health  and  surer  returns  for  their  labors  than  on  timber  farms.  It 
can  not  be  pleaded  in  this  case  that  these  prairies  were  unknown.  True  this  town- 
ship was  not  traversed  like  some  of  the  other  townships  by  great  public  roads, 
great  thoroughfares,  so  to  speak,  but  the  old  Danville  and  Ottowa  road  crossed 
the  southwest  corner.  The  road  from  Attica  to  Bloomington,  along  which  hun- 
dreds of  people  passed  each  year  visiting  their  old  homes  in  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
crossed  the  southern  part  of  this  grand  prairie;  so  the  people  living  to  the  east  and 
south  had  fair  knowledge  of  the  fertilities  and  the  beauty  of  the  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  township.  It  would  doubtless  be  well  to  leave  the  explanation  of  the 
mystery  to  an  adage  which  the  old  scholars  had,  which  being  literally  translated 
runs,  "In  matters  of  taste  there  is  no  use  in  disputing."  Just  so;  there  is  no  law 
against  a  man  going  through  the  woods  and  picking  up  a  crooked  stick  beyond. 

From  the  original  entry  book  of  the  records  of  Vermilion  County  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  three,  town- 
ship 22  north,  range  14  west  of  the  2d  P.  M.  was  the  first  tract  of  land  entered  in 
the  township.  The  records  show  that  it  was  entered  by  Samuel  Swinford,  Dec. 
25th,  1844,  and  the  northwest  l/\  of  the  northwest  y$  of  said  section  was  entered 
in  '47.  There  were  probably  more  entries  of  the  land  made  in  the  township  in 
'53.  '54  and  '55  than  any  other  years.  The  south  part  of  the  township  was.  occu- 
pied earlier  than  the  balance.  From  the  best  information  obtained,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  Jesse  S.  Piles  was  the  first  settler  in  the  territory,  entering  his  land  in 
1854  and  settling  on  the  same,  being  in  section  11-22-14.  In  the  same  year  J.  H. 
Swartz  with  several  neighbors  came  from  Ohio  to  Danville,  and  applying  at  the 
land  office  of  Parker  Dressor  entered  several  tracts  of  land  in  sections  30,  19,  29 
and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  forming  a  settlement  that  was  known  in  the  early 
days  as  the  Swartz  settlement.  In  1854  the  Armentrouts  entered  land  in  10  and 
1-22-13,  ar»d  in  '55  Hiram  Armentrout  and  Ambrose  Armentrout  and  Chas.  T. 
Bratton,  Jerry  Murphy  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township  along  what 


424  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

was  known  as  the  Attica  and  Bloomington  road.  It  is  difficult  to  do  justice  to  the 
earlier  settlers  naming  them  in  their  order  of  settlement,  as  they  came  in  at  this 
time  in  '54  to  '57  in  rapid  succession,  C.  T.  Bales,  Ephriam  Blackford,  David  Lig- 
gett, Stephen  Blackford,  Amos  Hoff,  Daniel  Stamp,  J.  W.  Shannon,  John  Dopps, 
all  began  the  development  of  their  farms  about  this  time.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  fame  of  the  great  wheat  producing  qualities  of  the  state  had  gone  abroad. 
Cases  were  numerous  where  a  single  crop  of  wheat  had  paid  the  cost  of  the  land, 
tilling,  fencing,  harvesting,  marketing  the  crop,  leaving  a  balance  to  the  credit  side 
of  the  account.  This  crop,  no  doubt,  was  exceptional,  but  that  such  things  did 
happen  there  is  no  dispute,  and  this  fame  went  abroad  to  Indiana,  Ohio  and  other 
eastern  states  and  many  came  here  in  '55  and  thereabouts  expecting  to  get  rich  on 
wheat  raising  alone.  Men  at  that  time  were  not  so  vastly  different  from  men  of 
today,  and  in  the  heighth  of  their  excitement  over  the  prospect  of  large  returns 
from  the  successful  crops,  ran  into  debt  for  additional  land  intending  to  pay  for 
it  out  of  the  next  wheat  crop  sown  on  last  year's  stubble  and  harrowed  in  with- 
out even  ploughing  the  ground,  and  as  a  result,  of  course,  the  subsequent  succes- 
sive failures  of  the  crops  ruined  many  farmers,  crippled  others  and  sent  some  to 
the  asylum  or  back  east  to  see  their  wife's  relations,  all  convinced  that  this  was 
not  in  the  wheat  belt. 

The  hard  times  which  followed  the  financial  crash  of  1873  was  as  severe  on 
the  new  settlers  of  Butler  as  had  been  the  previous  one  of  1837  on  those  who  were 
then  in  the  timber  belt  along  the  Middle  Fork.  Corn  became  the  principal  article 
of  food.  Money,  there  was  none.  The  entire  currency  of  the  west  was  based 
upon  the  faith  which  the  people  had  in  bankers,  many  of  which  were  either  foreign 
to  the  state,  or  mere  myths.  Michigan  "red-dog,"  Georgia  "wild-cat,"  Missouri 
"stump-tail,"  were  the  nicknames  which  were  applied  to  the  various  kinds  of 
bank-bills,  which  were  taken  at  par  one  day,  and  refused  at  a  heavy  discount  the 
next.  Never  was  a  people  so  swindled  with  imaginary  money.  Bank-note  de- 
tectors were  consulted  by  every  business  man  whenever  he  received  money,  to  try 
to  discover  whether  it  was  safe  to  take.  The  men  of  the  present  generation  who 
complain  of  "hard-times"  may  have  suffered,  but  they  know  next  to  nothing  of 
the  suffering  which  their  fathers  passed  through  then.  Taxes  were  all  payable 
in  specie,  and  light  as  they  were  then,  it  was  more  difficult  to  obtain  the  hard 
money  with  which  to  pay  them  then  than  now,  notwithstanding  they  are  ten 
times  as  great. 

It  is  difficult  to  write  the  history  of  this  township  and  give  due  credit  to 
the  men  of  sterling  worth  who  figured  so  prominently  in  the  affairs  of  the  day 
in  working  and  bringing  out  of  the  trackless  prairies  the  homes,  churches  and 
educational  institutions  and  all  that  which  is  necessary  to  build  up  and  broaden 
the  minds  of  men.  Aside  from  the  ones  that  have  been  previously  mentioned, 
without  any  effort  to  give  the  date  of  their  arrival  into  the  township,  or  to  fix 
in  any  degree  the  positions  they  occupied,  but  who  were  men  of  sterling  worth, 
high  noble  character,  and  did  much  toward  the  development  of  the  county  are 
the  following:  James  Dixon,  Jonothan  Doan,  J.  W.  Shannon,  Thomas  Towe, 
Wm.  I.  Allen,  Mr.  McCune,  Raffin  Clark.  George  Mains,  Daniel  S.  French, 
Jacob  Swisher,  John  R.  Bowers,  E.  S.  Pope,  J.  J.  Johnson,  Adam  Bratton,  Dr. 
Griffin,  Benj.  Peterson,  now  of  Henning.  Illinois,  and  many  others  whose  names 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  425 

ought  to  be  mentioned  that  cannot  now  be  remembered.     These  settlers  were 
emigrants  from  northwestern  Indiana,  Ohio  and  many  of  the  eastern  states. 

This  township  was  not  organized  until  1864.  Until  that  time  it  had  been  a 
part  of  Middle  Fork,  but  the  citizens  now  deemed  it  necessary  to  have  a  closer 
compact  of  government  to  better  their  condition  financially,  socially,  and  to  be 
in  a  position  to  organize  schools,  began  to  take  steps  toward  the  organizing  of  a 
township.  A  meeting  of  a  few  of  the  citizens  of  this  territory  was  called  and 
Amos  Hoff  was  appointed  as  a  committee  of  one  to  make  what  was  then  a  long 
trip  over  the  country  to  the  home  of  Squire  Oakwood  who  then  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bean  Creek  settlement  to  draw  the  necessary  petition  to  set  off  this 
township  and  it  was  finally  agreed  and  set  off  as  has  been  heretofore  described 
with  Wm.  Tennery,  who  at  that  time  lived  in  Middle  Fork  township,  as  the  su- 
pervisor of  the  joint  townships,  but  J.  H.  Swartz  was  elected  as  the  first  super- 
visor of  the  joint  townships,  in  1865  with  37  votes.  The  early  settlers  being  of  an 
intelligent,  bright,  active  people,  early  turned  their  attention  toward  schools.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  say  where  the  first  school  was  organized,  but  it  is  quite  probable 
that  the  first  school  in  the  township  was  what  has  been  known  ever  since  its  or- 
ganization as  the  Bratton  school,  and  the  first  term  of  school  was  taught  in  the 
smokehouse  of  Hiram  Armentrout,  and  the  next  in  order  was  probably  the  school 
that  has  been,  ever  since  its  organization,  known  as  the  Swartz  school,  and  the 
next  in  point  of  organization  was  what  was  known  as  the  Murphy  school.  All  of 
these  were  held  in  temporary  quarters.  The  first  school  building  built  in  the  Mur- 
phy district  was  nearing  completion  when  it  was  entirely  destroyed  by  a  wind 
storm.  The  building  that  took  its  place  and  used  as  a  school  house  for  many  years 
was  quite  small.  It  was  used  by  the  United  Brethren  for  church  purposes,  and 
because  of  its  structure  and  size  was  familiarly  known  all  over  the  community  as 
"The  Box."  At  the  time  of  the  organization  there  was  in  the  township  not  a  solitary 
village,  post  office  or  any  building  of  importance.  The  mail  for  almost  the  en- 
tire township  was  received  at  the  post  office  at  Blue  Grass,  which  at  that  time  was 
quite  a  nourishing  village.  The  first  post  office  in  the  township  was  Circle,  and 
Jesse  Piles  was  postmaster.  Churches  were  early  organized  in  the  district.  The 
first  Methodist  class  formed  in  this  township  was  probably  what  was  afterward 
known  as  Swartz's  chapel  in  about  1855.  It  was  formed  at  the  house  of  Eli 
Dopps.  It  was  a  very  interesting  class  and  from  this  class  three  distinct  churches 
were  organized,  the  Swartz  church  at  Rankin,  and  the  one  at  Pellsville,  but  the 
church  at  Pellsville  has  long  since  been  disbanded.  At  the  time  it  consisted  of 
16  members,  C.  Atkinson  was  preacher  in  charge,  and  John  E.  Vinson  was  as- 
sistant. It  belonged  to  what  at  that  time  was  known  as  the  Danville  circuit,  and 
there  was  no  other  church  in  all  this  country  but  Wallace  chapel,  the  one  at  Blue 
Grass  and  the  old  log  house  called  Partlows  church.  The  preaching  appoint- 
ment was  each  alternate  week,  and  it  was  a  terrible  winter,  as  all  remember  so 
that  Atkinson  did  not  reach  his  appointment  at  any  time  during  the  winter,  but 
Vinson  was  very  regular.  Greenbury  Garner,  Milo  Butler  and  W.  H.  McVey 
were  on  the  Danville  circuit  before  1861.  Mr.  Elliott  was  presiding  elder  and 
after  him,  L.  Pilner. 

After  this,  W.  H.  M.  Moore,  was  elder,  Sampson  Shinn  and  Enoch  Jones, 
preachers.  John  Helmick,  assistant,  J.  S.  Barger  and  John  Long,  preachers  in 


426  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

charge.  In  1855  the  Blue  Grass  circuit  was  formed  and  Swartz  school  house 
was  built,  in  which  they  held  services,  Sampson  Shinn  was  presiding  elder. 
Prairie  chapel,  the  Christian  church,  was  built  near  Swisher's  at  the  extreme 
southeastern  corner  of  the  township  in  1861.  Elder  Rolla  Martin  used  to  preach 
there.  He  was  for  many  years  the  pioneer  preacher  of  this  denomination.  It 
is  a  pleasant  church  with  a  strong  and  active  membership.  Hon.  Clay  F.  Gaumer 
is  the  present  pastor.  The  organization  of  this  church  was  effected  at  Blue  Grass 
in  1859  by  Elder  Martin.  Jacob  Swisher  who  lived  near  where  the  present 
edifice  stands  was  an  influential  member  and  had  much  to  do  with  the  removing 
of  the  organization  to  the  present  quarters.  The  frame  work  and  much  of  the 
material  used  in  the  construction  of  the  present  church  was  a  part  of  an  old 
church  that  was  bought  by  the  organization  many  years  ago  that  stood  near 
Danville,  but  was  torn  down  and  removed  to  its  present  location.  The  U.  B. 
church  was  organized  at  what  was  known  as  the  Murphy  school  house,  the  ex- 
act date  of  the  organization  not  being  known,  but  it  was  probably  between  1865 
and  '70.  Mr.  Zeigler  was  the  first  preacher  in  charge.  For  a  number  of  years 
Sunday  school  and  church  services  were  held  in  the  Murphy  school  house,  but 
Mr.  Stephen  Biddle  who  owned  the  land  adjoining  the  cross  roads  gave  a  plat  of 
ground  to  the  church  upon  which  a  very  comfortable  building  was  erected  in 
about  1878.  The  denomination  still  occupies  the  same  church  and  have  a  very 
active  organization,  and  they  now  associate  in  the  Rossville  circuit  and  B.  B. 
Phelps  is  preacher  in  charge.  Besides  the  churches  named,  there  are  a  number 
of  very  active  organizations  in  East  Lynn  and  Rankin,  which  are  treated  of 
elsewhere. 

This  township  was  void  of  railroads  for  many  years  after  the  first  settlers 
entered  it,  and  until  the  Lafayette,  Bloomington  and  Muncie  railroad  which  tra- 
versed the  township  from  east  to  west,  now  known  as  the  L.  E.  &  W.,  and  inter- 
secting the  C.  &  F.  I.  R.  R.  at  Hoopeston,  there  was  not  a  village  in  the  township. 
This  road  was  built  in  1872  and  in  that  year  W.  P.  Moore,  in  the  southeast  part 
of  section  10,  and  T.  J.  Van  Brunt  in  the  northeast  *4  of  section  10,  and  John 
P.  Dopps,  in  the  northwest  l/\  of  n,  and  Aiken  and  White  in  the  southwest  Y^ 
of  ii  (in  23-13)  platted  and  laid  out  the  town  site  of  East  Lynne,  giving  it  its 
name  from  the  charming  novel  of  Mrs.  Anna  S.  Stephen.  Henry  Ludden  was 
appointed  first  station  agent  and  first  postmaster  and  the  first  merchant.  In 
the  west  part  of  the  township,  the  laying  out  of  the  village  did  not  run  so 
smoothly.  At  a  very  early  date  W.  A.  Rankin's  attention  had  been  called  to  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  beautiful  prairie,  and  he  purchased  eight  sections  of 
land  lying  near  together  and  commenced  improving  it  in  1867.  He  built  a  fine 
residence  on  section  two,  which  had  been  beautifully  surrounded  by  trees,  chang- 
ing the  bleak  prairie  of  only  a  few  years  into  the  most  delightful  shady  resort 
to  be  found  in  this  part  of  the  country  and  he  early  conceived,  when  the  talk 
of  the  new  railroad  was  on,  the  idea  of  establishing  a  station  near  his  home. 
But  there  were  others,  and  W.  H.  Pells,  who  lived  just  a  short  distance  west  of 
Mr.  Rankin,  owning  but  eighty  acres  of  land  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing 
a  station  at  his  place,  hence  the  contest  in  site  was  on.  The  construction  com- 
pany of  which  Col.  Snell  was  the  head,  had  the  right  under  their  contract  to  desig- 
nate the  depot  but  were  also  authorized  to  receive  payment  for  the  same  sufficient 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  427 

to  cover  expenses  of  side-tracks,  depots,  etc.  When  Mr.  Rankin  went  to  ne- 
gotiate for  the  location,  he  placed  the  argument  that  as  the  whole  township  was 
taxed  for  the  road,  a  location  should  be  selected  as  near  equidistant  as  pos- 
sible, and  the  location  that  he  proposed  was  as  near  the  western  line  as  East 
Lynn  was  the  eastern,  and  that  more  people  of  this  township  would  be  ac- 
commodated by  this  location  than  any  other ;  that  he  was  ready  at  any  time  to 
pay  the  $2,500.00  required  for  putting  in  the  job  and  any  other  little  matters 
required  could  be  easily  arranged.  On  the  other  hand  Mr.  Pells  pleaded  that 
the  custom  of  the  road  which  had  been  to  permit  each  director  to  name  a  depot; 
that  every  other  director  had  been  accorded  that  privilege  and  that  the  farmers 
around  the  proposed  location  would  give  as  much  or  more  for  the  location.  The 
citizens  in  the  vicinity  of  Pellsville  raised  $3,500.00  by  subscription  and  got 
their  depot.  The  Rankin  people  paid  their  subscription  and  got  theirs.  It  then 
became  a  question  for  the  railroad  company  to  decide  which  one  should  be  re- 
tained and  Mr.  Boody  was  appealed  to  by  both  parties.  At  one  stage  of  the 
contest  a  proposition  was  obtained  to  locate  a  station  midway  between  the  two 
places.  This  was  accepted  by  one  party,  but  declined  by  the  other.  After  the 
matter  had  come  into  the  jurisdiction  of  Mr.  Boody,  he  proposed  a  plan  which 
was  very  likely  to  decide  matters,  but  just  then  the  road  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
a  receiver,  who  decided  that  he  had  no  authority  in  such  matter,  and  would  not 
decide. 

The  village  of  Rankin  was  laid  out  in  June,  1872,  by  A.  Bowman,  county  sur- 
veyo'r,  and  J.  R.  Bowers,  making  twenty-four  blocks,  each  of  which  were  24OX 
250  feet.  The  streets  are  eighty-five  feet  wide.  It  was  laid  out  one-half  on 
the  land  of  D.  and  W.  A.  Rankin,  in  section  12,  and  one-quarter  on  each  of  the 
lands  of  George  Gutherie  and  Mr.  Johnson.  The  Gutherie  portion  was  sold  to 
Prof.  Joseph  Carter,  of  Champaign,  Illinois,  who  still  owns  it.  The  two  open 
strips  between  the  blocks  and  the  track  were  left  for  public  use. 

The  first  building  was  commenced  by  Mr.  E.  Wait,  who  lived  in  Loda,  intend- 
ing to  go  into  the  grain  and  coal  trade.  Before  it  was  completed  he  was  killed  on 
the  construction  train  between  Paxton  and  this  station.  Mr.  F.  A.  Finney  took 
Waits'  interest  and  completed  the  building,  which  was  afterward  sold  to  Mr. 
Chapman.  Rankin  &  Thompson  put  up  the  next  building — a  grain  office.  C.  H. 
Wyman  put  up  a  store  and  put  in  a  stock  of  drugs.  Milton  Holmes,  from 
Bloomington,  built  most  of  the  buildings  that  were  put  up  the  first  year. 

He  and  his  hands  had  to  camp  out,  sleep  under  work-benches  or  wherever 
they  could  find  a  chance,  for  there  was  no  boarding  place  here.  Cowell  &  Weaver 
built  several.  There  was  no  lumber  yard  here,  and  the  freight  from  Paxton  was 
fifteen  dollars  per  car.  All  the  stone  brought  here  for  building  purposes  came 
from  Kankakee.  While  the  construction  company  retained  the  control  of  the 
road  no  less  freight  could  be  obtained,  and  thus  it  was  necessary  to  pay  at  Paxton 
as  there  was  no  office  here.  Holmes  built  the  drug  store  and  grain  office,  and 
six  dwelling  houses  for  Mr.  Rankin,  a  store  and  the  hotel  the  first  season.  His 
family  were  the  first  persons  who  came  here  to  live.  They  resided  in  the  Wait 
House.  J.  T.  Wickham  was  the  second.  They  resided  in  the  Wilson  House. 

The  Campbell  House  which  was  put  up  among  the  very  first  buildings  was 
at  that  time,  without  doubt,  the  finest  hotel  in  the  county  outside  of  Danville.  It 


428  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

was  built  for  J.  F.  Campbell  and  was  occupied  by  him  continuously  for  many 
years.  It  with  its  appurtenances  was  built  at  an  expenditure  of  $5,500.00.  J.  R. 
Bowers,  who  since  the  first  opening  of  business  in  Rankin  was  one  of  the  solid 
men  of  the  village.  He  came  to  make  a  farm  on  section  7,  two  miles  east  of 
Rankin,  in  1865.  He  remained  there  until  the  village  was  commenced  and  then 
brought  the  old  flax-seed  warehouse  from  Blue  Grass  and  went  into  business. 

Flax  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading  crops  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  large  acreages  of  this  crop  sown,  and  it  was 
indeed  a  beautiful  sight  when  the  flax  crop  was  in  bloom.  A  Lafayette  firm 
which  was  interested  in  the  business  had  erected  a  warehouse  at  Blue  Grass 
which  was  then  the  great  central  point  of  trade  and  traffic.  This  firm  planned 
their  warehouse  so  as  to  keep  the  seed  from  one  year  to  the  other,  and  in  the 
spring  they  would  loan  the  farmer  the  seed  to  seed  his  land;  attached  to  the 
loan  contract  was  an  agreement  to  sell  the  firm  the  seed  when  it  was  harvested, 
and  as  soon  as  the  railroad  was  built  this  brought  about  the  opportunity  which 
Mr.  Bowers  seized  when  he  removed  the  old  warehouse  from  Blue  Grass  to  the 
village  of  Rankin.  Rankin  and  Thompson  were  the  first  to  open  up  in  the  grain 
trade  under  the  firm  name  of  D.  and  W.  A.  Rankin.  They  built  an  elevator 
which  was  30x50,  40  feet  high,  at  that  time  was  a  great  structure.  This  same 
elevator  is  in  operation  today,  but  its  capacity  has  been  much  enlarged.  The 
war  between  Rankin  and  Pellsville  occasionally  broke  out,  but  it  soon  devel- 
oped that  Rankin  had  come  to  stay  and  that  Pellsville  was  doomed,  and  today 
there  is  scarcely  a  vestige,  and  not  a  house  nor  a  corner  stone  to  tell  the  story 
of  what  was  once  a  flourishing  village. 

In  1902  the  C.  &  E.  I.  R.  R.  built  a  branch  road,  leaving  the  main  line  at 
Woodland,  crossing  the  county,  making  a  short  line  to  St.  Louis.  This  road 
crossed  the  north  line  of  Butler  township  at  about  il/2  miles  east  of  the  village 
of  Rankin,  it  crossed  the  township  from  north  to  south  angling  a  little  from  the 
direct  line  to  the  westward  and  just  south  of  Rankin  was  the  little  town  or  vil- 
lage of  Riley.  At  this  place  sprung  up  a  number  of  business  houses,  an  elevator 
and  excellent  railroad  facilities  to  the  part  of  the  township  that  heretofore  found 
it  very  inconvenient. 

Much  of  the  early  history  of  the  township  is  a  matter  of  tradition,  and  in- 
asmuch as  the  memory  of  man  is  fickle  and  many  of  the  facts  that  would  be  of 
great  interest  to  have  recorded  in  this  article,  have  long  since  been  forgotten  by 
the  present  generations  and  the  ones  who  could  relate  them  best  have  long 
since  passed  away.  Only  a  few  of  the  early  settlers  that  occupied  this  country 
prior  to  1860  are  living  to  tell  the  story.  As  nearly  as  can  be  determined  there 
are  but  very  few  of  these  early  settlers  living  today  who  came  to  this  township 
prior  to  1859.  Of  these  there  are  Hiram  Armentrout  and  his  wife,  who  settled 
on  the  south  half  of  section  two  (22-13)  m  J^SS,  and  resided  on  the  same  until 
a  few  years  ago  when  they  removed  to  Rossville,  and  reside  there  at  the  present 
time.  Scott  Armentrout  their  only  son  resides  on  the  farm  having  lived  where 
he  was  born  and  nowhere  else  all  his  life. 

Mr.  Armentrout  is  81  past,  very  hardy  and  never  used  glasses  and  his  eye 
sight  is  good  to  this  day.  Amos  Hoff  moved  to  the  northeast  Y\  of  the  southeast 
Y^  of  section  9  and  the  northwest  *4  of  the  southwest  J4  of  sections  10-22-13 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  429 

in  1857  and  resided  there  until  a  few  years  ago  when  he  and  his  life  companion 
removed  to  Rossville  where  they  now  reside.  Mr.  Hoff  is  78  and  quite  active,  and 
his  wife  is  75.  Wesley  Blackford  settled  on  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  % 
of  sections  2-22-13  in  1859,  where  he  now  resides  having  lived  there  continuously 
ever  since.  His  wife  having  passed  on  several  years  ago.  As  far  as  is  known 
he  is  the  only  one  now  living  in  the  township  that  was  there  at  that  time.  The 
pictures  of  these  very  old  people  and  the  companions  of  the  first  two  are  given 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

Coal  was  unknown  in  this  territory  in  these  early  days.  It  was  a  custom  of 
the  farmers  who  resided  in  this  country  to  procure  for  themselves  a  small  tract 
of  timber  to  furnish  them  their  supply  of  fire  wood  and  material  for  their  fences 
and  building  purposes.  These  years  of  hard  times  were  full  of  many  incidents 
that  would  be  interesting  to  relate  if  they  could  only  be  procured  and  space 
could  be  given.  In  the  absence  of  the  railroads  the  markets  for  this  township 
were  Chicago  and  Danville  after  the  railroad  came,  and  later  Loda  and  Paxton 
when  the  I.  C.  railroad  had  been  built.  During  the  winter  months  the  farmers 
were  busy  marketing  the  grain  because  it  took  much  time  to  deliver  a  few  bushels 
as  the  distance  was  so  great.  An  incident  is  told  of  Thomas  Towe  and  Mr. 
McCune.  Towe  had  come  to  this  country  in  '56,  settled  on  section  7-23-13. 
Along  in  the  fall  sometime  Towe  and  McCune  load  gone  to  Middle  Fork.  Mc- 
Cune to  get  a  load  of  wood  and  Towe  for  a  load  of  sand.  This  timber,  twelve 
miles  away,  was  the  nearest  fuel  they  could  obtain.  They  knew  nothing  of  coal 
at  that  day.  McCune  had  a  good  team  of  horses  and  his  partner  was  driving 
three  yoke  of  oxen — of  course,  he  had  to  go  on  foot.  Night  overtaking  them 
they  became  completely  lost.. 

To  be  lost  on  the  prairie  at  night  is  the  nearest  thing  to  being  "finally  lost" 
that  one  experiences  in  this  life.  There  is  absolutely  no  clue  by  which  the  most 
skillful  detective  could  work  out.  Especially  is  this  so  when  the  wind  does  not 
blow.  Teams  are  liable  to  walk  around  in  a  circle,  and  in  the  absence  of  any 
light,  which  can  be  seen  on  such  occasions  many  miles,  the  wanderers  not  unfre- 
quently  find  it  necessary  to  spend  the  night  on  the  prairie.  In  this  case  the  be- 
nighted travelers  set  to  hallooing  with  all  their  might,  and  after  an  hour  of  such 
exercise  they  were  heard  by  Mr.  Stamp,  who  fired  a  gun  to  attract  their  atten- 
tion. As  soon  as  they  could  ascertain  the  direction  of  this  first  "gun  at  day- 
break" they  started  for  it  at  double-quick ;  Towe  ahead  leading  the  van  with  his 
steers,  and  McCune  following  like  a  general  officer  on  dress  parade,  glad  to  ride 
where  Towe  should  lead.  They  came  to  one  of  those  ponds  which  at  that  time 
were  numerous  on  these  prairies,  and  the  leader  fearing  to  turn  to  the  right  or 
the  left  lest  he  should  lose  his  direction,  plunged  in  knee  deep,  yelling  at  the 
top  of  his  voice  to  keep  up  his  courage,  and  to  keep  their  gunner  acquainted  with 
their  whereabouts.  McCune  rode  out  the  storm  like  a  major,  and  never  looked 
on  that  pond  after  that  without  almost  fancying  he  could  see  Towe  knee-deep  in 
the  flood.  Mr.  Towe  returned  to  New  York,  and  John,  who  remained  to  carry  on 
the  farm,  went  to  the  army  and  was  killed.  Squire  Bowers,  in  returning  from 
Loda  one  night,  got  lost  and  became  mired  in  a  pond.  He  took  off  the  horses  and 
walked  around  all  night  to  keep  from  being  numbed  with  the  cold.  It  was  cus- 
tomary when  the  father  of  the  family  was  belated,  to  place  a  candle  in  the  win- 


430  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

dovv  which  looked  in  the  direction  he  was  to  come,  and  many  a  man  has  been 
saved  a  night  on  the  prairie  by  "keeping  the  lower  light  burning." 

The  nearest  mill  for  a  time  was  at  Myersville,  until  Persons  purchased  and 
refitted  the  Ross  Mill.  The  nearest  trading  point  was  at  Loda,  twelve  miles  north, 
which  was  a  famous  point  for  trade  for  all  this  country  until  the  distillery 
burned  and  the  building  of  the  railroads  drew  merchants  away  from  there,  until 
now  there  is  nothing  left  of  its  former  business  importance. 

In  the  early  days  the  people  here  did  not  raise  many  cattle  for  some  reason. 
AS  previously  stated,  all  tried  wheat  for  a  time,  until  continued  failures  used  up 
all  they  had  kept  for  seed,  without  any  return.  Still  they  bought  seed  and  sowed 
again.  Corn  and  hogs  were  the  staple.  Hogs  always  brought  a  paying  price, 
and  it  was  before  cholera  had  been  invented.  Stock  and  corn  are  the  principal 
staples  of  the  farmer  yet.  Flax  has  been  raised  some,  and  was  considered  a  fair 
crop.  To  the  renter  it  was  considered  an  available  crop,  for  it  "turns"  so  much 
earlier  than  corn  that  it  enabled  him  to  get  something  to  live  on  several  months 
before  he  could  for  corn.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  there  is  a  native  of  the 
township  of  the  present  generation  that  ever  saw  in  its  confines  a  crop  of  flax 
growing. 

Land  was  worth  from  $2.50  to  $5  per  acre.  Some  sold  as  high  as  $9  before 
the  railroad  was  built,  and  some  sold  in  anticipation  of  that  building  as  high  as 
$12.  Eight  dollars  was  probably  a  fair  average  for  land  two  years  before  the 
railroad  was  built.  Twenty  to  twenty-five  dollars  could  hardly  be  called  an  ex- 
orbitant price  as  late  as  1885.  The  present  price  of  land  in  the  township  is  from 
$100  to  $175  or  probably  $200  per  acre. 

McCune  says  that  as  late  as  1857  he  has  seen  here  on  this  prairie  as  many 
as  twenty  deer  at  a  time,  and  at  one  time  he  saw  on  section  7  fifty-four  in  one 
lot  going  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  and  wolves  were  as  thick  as  rabbits.  As 
late  as  1858,  of  a  flock  of  sheep,  which  had  got  away  from  a  man  living  north 
of  here,  eighty  were  killed  in  a  single  night.  Badgers  were  also  plenty.  They 
were  as  large  as  a  dog,  and  stronger,  with  a  thick  neck,  and  too  strong  for  any 
dog  to  master.  Rattlesnakes  were  so  plenty  that  on  a  single  farm  a  hundred 
were  killed  in  a  single  season.  It  is  a  wonder  that  more  people  were  not  killed 
by  them.  Dogs  that  were  bitten  by  them  seemed  to  know  how  to  cure  them- 
selves. 

Prairie  mud  was  a  very  certain  cure.  They  were  really  a  dangerous  neigh- 
bor, yet  the  children  went  bare-footed  to  school  or  hunting  strawberries  as 
now.  They  seem  as  adverse  to  civilization  as  any  of  their  wild  neighbors,  and  as 
the  prairie-grass  was  killed  out  by  being  plowed  and  cultivated  they  disap- 
peared. The  last  seen  of  them  here  was  about  1870.  It  is  doubted  whether  any 
survived  the  shriek  of  the  locomotive  or  the  high  taxes  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion. We  used  to  have  squirrels  here,  red  and  gray,  not  unlike  those  in  the 
timber  but  smaller,  and  with  shorter  tails.  Prairie  chickens  were  of  course 
very  plenty,  and  the  reverberating  "boom"  of  their  matins,  ushering  in  an  Oc- 
tober morning,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  old  settlers,  and  probably  never 
heard  in  its  fullness  by  the  new.  Sand-hill  cranes  were  very  numerous,  as 
they  nested  here  in  the  ponds  on  this  divide,  and,  if  undisturbed,  would  make 
havoc  of  the  corn  in  the  spring,  taking  two  rows  at  a  time,  as  clean  as  any 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  431 

man  could  root  it  up,  and  in  the  fall  would  congregate  in  great  numbers  if  not 
driven  away.  The  writer  remembers  very  distinctly  when  a  boy  of  building  a 
trap  for  the  purpose  of  catching  prairie  chickens,  that  was  in  shape  of  an  or- 
dinary square  box  about  18  inches  wide  by  4  feet  long,  and  2  feet  high,  and  the 
top  was  simply  a  trap  door.  The  trap  was  baited  with  corn  and  an  ear  of  corn 
usually  extended  upright  on  a  cross-piece.  The  prairie  chickens  would  light 
upon  these  trap  doors  to  peck  the  ear  of  corn  and  would  be  precipitated,  before 
they  could  get  away,  into  the  box  or  trap,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  in  going 
to  the  trap  on  the  early  morning  to  find  from  two  to  one-half  dozen  prairie 
chickens  encooped  therein. 

William  H.  Tennery  who  lived  across  the  line  in  Middle  Fork  township  was 
known  far  and  wide  as  the  stock  man  of  that  country.  It  was  he  who  turned 
the  grand  prairie  of  Butler  township  into  a  grazing  field  for  the  Texas  cattle. 
The  year  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  was  built  as  far  south  as  Loda,  which  at  that  time  was 
the  terminus,  he  bought  from  Butler  township,  mostly,  and  from  adjoining  ter- 
ritory a  load  of  hogs  for  shipment,  and  this  was  in  all  probability  the  first  and 
the  largest  drove  of  hogs  that  had  'ever  been  shipped  out  of  the  territory.  He 
loaded  his  hogs  on  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  at  Loda,  having  $00  head,  intending  to  ship 
them  to  Buffalo,  New  York.  He  landed  in  Chicago  in  due  time,  unloaded  the 
hogs,  was  detained  there  three  or  four  days  waiting  for  cars  to  ship  them  from 
Chicago  east,  and  at  last  he  succeeded  in  getting  cars  enough  for  his  hogs.  He 
reached  Detroit  without  a  mishap,  arriving  there  in  the  early  winter,  learn- 
ing that  the  Detroit  river  was  frozen  over  and  the  railroad  traffic  between  De- 
troit and  Buffalo,  by  means  of  ferry,  was  closed.  He  unloaded  his  hogs,  kept 
them  in  Detroit  for  several  days,  feeding  them  60  cent  corn.  Early  one  morn- 
ing he  conceived  an  idea,  and  he  says  to  the  landlord  of  the  hotel,  "Is  there 
not  a  place  in  the  river  where  the  water  is  still  that  would  probably  freeze 
over?"  The  landlord  advised  him  that  there  was,  a  short  distance  out  of  the 
city.  Mr.  Tennery  procured  a  saddle  horse  and  started  out  to  investigate.  He 
found  the  river  frozen  over  and  with  an  axe  crossed  the  river  testing  the  ice 
from  time  to.  time  to  determine  whether  it  was  solid  enough  to  bear.  He  found 
the  river  covered  with  a  coat  of  ice  about  six  inches  thick,  and  satisfied  that 
his  idea  was  good,  he  returned  to  the  city  of  Detroit,  engaged  six  teams  for 
the  next  day  to  haul  him  straw.  Early  in  the  morning  the  teams  arrived  on  the 
scene  with  the  straw,  which  he  had  them  scatter  on  the  ice  entirely  across  the 
river,  then  he  had  men  cut  holes  in  the  ice,  threw  water  on  the  straw  until  it 
was  frozen  fast  to  the  ice.  This  done,  it  formed  a  footing  for  his  hogs.  He 
opened  the  gates  in  the  stock  pen,  drove  his  hogs  to  the  road,  thus  made  across 
the  river  and  drove  the  500  head  over  the  river  on  the  ice  landing  them  safely 
on  the  other  side  at  which  point  they  were  reloaded  on  the  railroad  train  and 
shipped  into  the  city  of  Buffalo.  Such  was  the  transportation  of  stock  in  those 
days. 

The  women  who  had  the  courage  to  leave  their  more  comfortable  homes  in 
the  east  and  come  west  to  assist  their  husbands,  their  chosen  companion  for 
life,  to  carve  out  of  this  uninviting  prairie  a  home,  are  certainly  deserving  of  men- 
tion in  this  article.  When  the  neighbors  were  few  and  far  between  and  the 
husband  was  away  on  the  business  of  making  a  living,  it  was  indeed,  lonesome 


432  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

for  the  wife  who  was  left  to  look  after  the  household  affairs.  One  incident  has 
been  mentioned,  the  wife  of  Adam  Bratton  said  that  after  she  came  to  this 
country  there  was  a  period  of  three  months  that  she  did  not  see  a  solitary 
woman.  Mr.  Bratton  settled  in  1854  on  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
12-22-13.  Many  such  incidents  could  no  doubt  be  mentioned.  There  was  also 
the  danger  of  burning  of  the  house  and  the  buildings  by  the  prairie  fires.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  when  the  fire  would  get  started  it  took  more  than  an  or- 
dinary plow  furrow  or  a  trail  across  the  prairie  to  stop  it,  and  when  once  the 
fire  was  started  the  flames  would  leap  a  furrowed  track  many  feet  in  width  and 
gather  velocity  and  go  on.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  settlers  who 
had  been  from  home  to  discover  when  they  came  in  sight  of  their  little  belong- 
ings that  it  was  threatened  with  the  dreadful  prairie  fires,  and  were  forced 
some  times  to  run  their  horses  for  miles  in  order  to  save  their  little  accumula- 
tions. 

Game  was  very  abundant,  deer,  prairie  chicken,  duck  and  geese  in  the  spring 
and  fall.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  even  as  late  as  '65  and  '70  and  even  later 
than  that  for  the  men  of  the  community  to  gather  together  and  have  a  wolf 
drive  and  chase  over  the  prairies.  It  was  certainly  a  pretty  sight  to  see  a  half 
dozen  mounted  men  riding  without  a  thing  to  impede  their  progress  for  miles 
over  the  prairies  chasing  the  wolf.  The  prairie  wolf  was  very  cunning,  and 
it  was  not  uncommon  for  them  to  elude  their  pursuer  and  get  away. 

Butler  township  furnished  its  quota  of  men  for  the  Civil  war,  among  the 
number  were  the  Liggett  boys,  the  Ballard  boys,  and  many  others.  Most  of 
them  mentioned  were  in  the  i25th  Illinois,  but  there  was  no  company  organized 
distinctly  from  this  township. 

The  writer  recently  visited  the  township  calling  upon  the  old  settlers,  and 
was  much  surprised  to  find  that  so  few  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  township 
or  their  descendents  now  owned  or  occupy  the  land  in  the  township.  O.  O. 
Ross,  now  of  Hoopeston,  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  East  Lynne  and  the  first 
to  open  a  bank,  now  owns  a  large  acreage  south  and  west  of  East  Lynne.  The 
village  of  East  Lynne  has  not  made  any  rapid  growth,  but  has  about  held  its 
own.  N.  R.  Hall  entered  business  in  1875  and  seems  to  be  the  only  one  who  has 
continuously  been  in  business  for  that  length  of  time  now  in  the  village.  He 
still  conducts  the  hardware  store  where  he  opened  it  many  years  ago.  As  has 
been  elsewhere  stated  in  this  article,  the  old  school  building  consisting  of  two 
rooms  was  added  to,  and  is  today  a  good  school  of  four  rooms.  The  Methodist 
church  with  J.  W.  Armstrong,  pastor,  is  the  only  church  in  the  village.  There 
was  formerly  a  Baptist  church,  but  it  has  been  abandoned  for  several  years, 
and  the  ground  upon  which  it  stood  reverted  to  the  original  owners.  There 
are  two  grain  elevators  that  are  doing  an  excellent  business,  furnishing  a  market 
for  the  grain  in  a  large  area  of  the  county.  E.  C.  Kelly  of  the  south  side,  runs 
a  general  store,  as  does  also  Mr.  Cunningham.  Dr.  Berry  is  the  only  physician 
in  the  village  and  the  proprietor  of  the  drug  store.  The  town  has  a  very 
comfortable  hotel  conducted  by  the  Misses  Harris.  The  village  has  one  bank 
known  as  the  Bank  of  East  Lynne.  It  is  a  private  institution  with  T.  G.  Lux- 
ton,  one  of  the  old  settlers,  as  president,  and  F.  P.  McCord,  as  cashier.  The 
capital  stock  of  this  bank  is  $15,000.00,  carries  a  surplus  of  $10,000.00  and  the 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  433 

deposits  aggregate  about  $75,000.00.  The  individual  responsibility  of  the  bank 
is  rated  at  $150,000.00.  The  familiar  names  that  were  formerly  on  the  places 
of  business  such  as  O.  E.  Wilson,  Messrs.  Aiken,  Hall,  French,  Morey  and 
Gardner  are  all  gone.  Arthur  R.  Hall,  a  prominent  attorney  of  the  city  of 
Danville,  is  a  son  of  F.  M.  Hall,  who  was  in  the  grain  business  many  years  in 
this  village. 

Rankin  today  is  a  prosperous  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants.  It  has 
three  general  stores,  conducted  by  Henneberry  &  Morrow,  successors  to  J.  L. 
McCauley;  the  Rankin  Store  Company,  by  William  Bauer,  manager;  and  the 
other  Cuno  Sidel,  successor  to  Sidel  &  Bramer.  There  are  a  number  of  grocery 
stores  and  restaurants  and  one  exclusive  jewelry  store.  Rankin  has  an  eight- 
room,  brick,  with  basement,  school  building,  with  a  four  years'  high  school 
course,  employing  at  the  present  five  teachers.  It  is  one  of  the  good  graded 
schools  of  the  county.  The  present  building  was  built  in  1892.  There  was 
some  opposition  to  this  building,  but  as  is  usually  the  case  right  prevailed  and 
an  excellent  building  was  the  result.  They  have  a  library  in  the  school  worth 
probably  $1,000.00.  The  school  property  is  valued  at  $18,000.00.  The  school 
is  held  for  a  term  of  8*/2  months,  and  W.  E.  Waggoner  is  the  present  prin- 
cipal. In  1893  the  L.  E.  &  W.  R.  R.  established  just  east  of  the  village  a  round 
house  and  shop,  which  today  has  a  pay  roll  of  approximately  $10,000.00  per 
month,  giving  employment  to  80  or  100  men,  which  gives  business  enthusiasm 
to  the  village.  Rankin  has  four  churches.  The  Catholic  church,  with  Rev. 
Father  Healy  of  Loda  as  pastor,  holding  services  every  two  weeks.  The  Meth- 
odist church,  which  was  mentioned  before  as  an  off-spring  of  the  Swartz  chapel 
or  class,  has  a  very  comfortable  edifice  and  parsonage,  and  Rev.  John  Cusic 
giving  one-half  of  his  time  to  this  church  and  the  balance  of  his  time  to  No.  One 
chapel,  is  the  pastor.  The  Presbyterian  church  which  was  originally  a  branch 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  has  a  very  active  membership  and  Rev.  C.  J. 
Grimes  is  the  present  pastor.  The  Swedes  have  played  a  very  important  part 
in  the  development  of  the  north  and  the  northwest  part  of  the  township,  and 
they  have  an  established  church  with  a  very  comfortable  building  known  as  the 
Swedish-Lutheran  church.  Rev.  Peter  Pierson  is  pastor.  Rankin  has  two 
grain  elevators  that  does  a  business  of  about  400,000  bushels  of  grain  per  annum 
each. 

One  of  the  early  established  financial  institutions  of  the  village  is  the  bank 
known  as  the  Rankin  Whitham  &  Company  Bankers,  organized  as  a  private 
bank  with  a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.00.  deposits  $150,000.00,  with  an  individual 
responsibility  of  $1,000.000.00.  This  bank  is  one  of  the  strong  financial  insti- 
tutions of  the  county  and  one  in  which  the  Butler  township  people  may  well 
be  proud.  The  township  boasts  of  one  newspaper,  which  is  located  at  Rankin, 
known  as  the  Rankin  Independent,  having  been  a  very  influential  factor  in  the 
community  for  more  than  twelve  years  with  C.  E.  Groves  as  editor.  M.  C.  Ellis 
manages  and  controls  the  present  tile  factory  of  the  village.  It  has  been  a  long 
established  business.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  another  township  in  the  county 
in  which  so  few  of  the  early  settlers  or  the  descendants  of  the  early  settlers  now 
reside  as  in  Butler.  The  title  to  the  land  in  the  township  has  practically  all 
passed  from  the  original  owners  to  others.  Notwithstanding  this  Butler  town- 


434  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

ship  has  been  wide-awake  and  its  people  have  been  active  and  energetic  and 
are  proud  of  the  fact  that  the  legalized  saloon  has  never  had  a  footing  in  its 
territory.  There  have  been  a  few  times  when  liquor  was  sold  clandestinely,  but 
they  were  permitted  to  stay  but  a  short  time  until  the  active  people  of  the  com- 
munity drove  them  out.  There  has  truly  been  a  wonderful  transformation 
from  the  vast  and  trackless  prairie  as  it  existed  in  the  early  fifties,  and  as  it 
appears  today  dotted  everywhere  with  beautiful  groves,  elegant  farm  homes, 
school  houses,  churches,  railroad  and  good  public  roads,  all  the  evidence  of 
thrift  and  industry.  It  hardly  seems  possible  that  within  so  short  a  time,  prac- 
tically a  half  century,  such  wonderful  transformations  could  be  brought  about. 
If  any  name  has  been  omitted  in  this  article,  or  any  industry  or  business 
that  should  have  been  mentioned,  it  is  an  oversight  and  not  the  intent. 

OAKWOOD    TOWNSHIP. 

Oakwood  township  lies  on  the  western  border  of  Vermilion  County.  Its 
greatest  length  is  from  east  to  west  and  is  twelve  miles.  Its  width  north  and 
south  is  six  miles.  It  includes  a  part  of  six  congressional  towns  and  the  whole 
territory  consists  of  sixty-five  and  three-fourth  square  miles.  The  township 
has  a  diversified  surface  and  soil.  There  is  little  of  the  soil  that  cannot  be  said 
to  be  deep,  rich  and  very  productive.  The  eastern  part  of  the  township  used  to 
be  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  but  this  has  been  cut  until  now  there 
can  hardly  be  said  to  be  much  timber  left.  Within  the  past  ten  or  more  years 
there  has  been  much  draining  of  the  land  in  this  township ;  indeed  a  note  of 
warning  has  been  sounded  lest  this  draining  into  the  streams  becomes  a  menace 
to  those  who  own  land  along  the  banks  and  suffer  from  the  overflow  of  the 
same. 

Stony  creek  flows  one-half  way  across  the  township  from  the  south. 
There  is  plenty  of  water  for  the  township.  On  the  eastern  border  is  the  Middle 
Fork  of  the  Vermilion  river ;  on  the  south  side  is  the  Salt  Fork ;  through  the  center 
is  Stony  creek,  which  rises  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township  and  flowing 
southeasterly  empties  into  the  Salt  Fork. 

Oakwood  township  is  crossed  by  the  Peoria  division  of  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad.  Like  the  greater  part  of  Vermilion  County,  Oakwood  township  is  an 
agricultural  section.  It  is  traversed  from  east  to  west  by  the  trolley  of  the  Illinois 
Traction  system,  which  follows  the  railroad  within  a  few  feet  all  the  way  across 
the  township.  Oakwood  township  is  truly  historic  ground,  it  being  where  the 
salt  springs  were  located,  and  where  the  first  settlement  of  the  county  was  made. 
The  coal  industry  of  Oakwood  township  has  been  of  importance.  This  is  fully 
considered  in  the  chapter  on  coal  and  coal  mining.  Oakwood  finds  her  early 
history  in  that  of  Pilot,  Vance  and  Catlin  or  more  explicitly :  On  the  2d  day 
of  October,  George  A.  Fox,  supervisor  from  Vance  township,  offered  a  reso- 
lution creating  a  new  township  from  the  territory  of  Vance,  Catlin  and  Pilot, 
in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  certain  petitioners  from  said  townships.  At 
this  time  Mr.  West  was  supervisor  from  Pilot  and  Mr.  Church  was  supervisor 
from  Catlin  townships.  The  supervisors  concluded  to  delay  action  until  the 
March  session  of  the  next  year  in  order  that  all  persons  connected  with  the 
proposed  change  could  have  opportunity  to  approve  or  disapprove  of  the  meas- 


HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY  485 

ure.  Accordingly  on  the  9th  of  March,  1868,  the  petition  presented  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  previous  fall  was  again  taken  up,  and  Mr.  Fox  urged  the  passage  of 
the  resolution  to  create  a  new  township.  A  great  effort  was  made  to  have  the 
matter  again  delayed,  but  it  was  without  success.  The  prayer  of  the  petitioners 
was  granted  and  an  election  was  ordered  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  township 
officers. 

In  considering  the  villages  in  Oakwood  township  the  first  named  is  to  be 
Newtown. 

This  village  was  laid  out  by  Benjamin  Coddington,  and  the  plat  of  it  was 
riled  June  15,  1838.  The  first  man  to  locate  in  this  township  was  Stephen  Grif- 
fith. The  plat  of  Newtown  was  simple.  It  was  located  on  a  cross  road  and  the 
streets  were  but  two,  called  Main  street  and  High  street.  These  streets  were 
the  roads  which  crossed  at  this  point.  Newtown  at  present  does  not  in  the 
least  suggest  the  possibility  of  being  an  abandoned  town.  It  is  a  bright,  well 
painted  little  village  which  presents  the  appearance  of  having  attained  its  de- 
sire and  in  no  way  disappointed  that  other  more  favored  villages  have  because 
of  railroads  and  other  advantages  made  long  strides  in  its  advance.  Newtown 
had  a  future  at  one  time  but  that  is  so  far  in  the  past  that  it  would  never  be 
guessed  at  present. 

Conkeytown  is  another  old  village  which  had  outlived  its  usefulness.  The 
old  mill  which  was  a  landmark  for  so  long  a  time  is  gone  and  likewise  many 
other  well  known  buildings.  Mr.  Conkey  came  to  this  section  in  1851  and  oper- 
ated a  general  country  store.  He  came  from  Eugene,  Indiana.  Mr.  Denman 
set  up  a  blacksmith  shop  and  Mr.  Conkey  had  a  post  office.  Conkeytown  was  a 
village  of  promise  but  its  glory  is  gone,  the  village  has  long  since  been  merged 
into  a  farm  and  every  year  less  and  less  of  the  old  town  remains.  Muncie  is 
a  village  on  the  railroad  fourteen  miles  west  of  Danville.  This  village  was 
surveyed  by  Mr.  Alexander  Bowman  and  its  plat  recorded  in  September,  1875. 
The  station  at  Muncie  was  first  opened  in  1876.  William  Lynch  was  the  first 
agent.  Since  Dr.  Fithian  owned  much  land  through  Oakwood  township  when 
the  railroad  first  went  through  a  station  was  made  on  his  farm  and  given  his 
name.  So  it  was  Dr.  Fithian  had  Mr.  Guy,  the  county  surveyor,  lay  out  a  vil- 
lage and  plat  the  same  which  was  filed  in  1870.  This  plat  was  a  perfect  square, 
containing  eight  full  and  eight  fractional  blocks,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
railroad.  This  village  was  either  more  favorably  located  or  was  more  extensively 
advertised  than  the  other  stations  on  the  road,  for  it  has  been  more  prosperous. 
It  has  been  a  great  point  for  buying  and  shipping  of  stock  and  grain. 

Oakwood  station  was  laid  out  in  1870,  but  has  never  been  the  active  village 
that  Fithian  has  proved  to  be.  This  place  has  been  a  good  shipping  point  for 
the  coal  interests  on  the  Salt  Fork,  but  this  interest  has  been  so  very  uncer- 
tain during  recent  years  that  no  village  can  grow  on  the  many  strikes. 

Sidell  township  occupies  the  southwestern  corner  of  Vermilion  County  hav- 
ing Edgar  and  Champaign  counties  respectively  for  the  western  and  southern 
boundaries  and  Vance  to  the  north  and  Catlin  to  the  east.  Until  1867  Sidell 
formed  a  portion  of  Carroll  township,  for  political  purposes.  The  name  of 
Sidell  was  given  to  the  township  in  honor  of  John  Sidell  who  owned  much  prop- 
erty in  the  township.  The  valley  of  the  Little  Vermilion  river  runs  nearly 


436  HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY 

through  the  center  of  the  township  having  the  ridges  or  strips  of  high  land 
which  bounds  this  valley  on  the  northern  and  southern  boundaries  of  Sidell 
township.  This  beautiful  valley  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  basin  here  and 
encloses  some  of  the  richest  farming  land  in  Illinois.  The  prairie  flies  which  in- 
fested these  prairies  were  a  dreadful  pest.  In  August  a  man  was  obliged  to  do 
all  his  traveling  with  a  team  in  the  night. 

There  were  a  few  scattering  settlers  in  this  section  before  1850,  but  there 
was  nothing  like  general  cultivation  of  this  portion  of  Vermilion  County  until 
1855  or  '°°-  It  was  m  !8S3  that  Michael  Sullivant  entered  forty-seven  thousand 
acres  lying  in  a  body  in  Sidell  township  and  Champaign  County.  The  portion 
lying  in  Sidell  township  went  into  the  hands  of  his  son  Joseph,  and  he  kept  it  as 
a  stock  farm  so  long  as  he  was  able.  This  tract  afterward  became  the  famous 
Allerton  farm.  One  of  the  farms  of  Sidell  township  is  the  one  yet  known  as  the 
Allen  farm.  This  farm  was  a  sheep  farm  while  yet  Mr.  Sullivant  was  running 
his  estate,  and  the  way  the  sheep  were  managed  together  with  the  other  arrange- 
ments of  the  affairs  of  this  farm  makes  it  even  yet  pointed  out  as  a  famous  place. 

JAMAICA    TOWNSHIP. 

These  fifteen  divisions  of  Vermilion  County  remained  all  there  were  until 
1890  when  Jamaica  township  was  formed.  This  new  township  was  made  from 
Catlin,  Sidell  and  Vance  townships.  The  division  came  long  after  any  im- 
portant history  of  the  section  was  enacted,  and  all  that  has  transpired  since  has 
been  of  but  passing  interest. 

LOVE  TOWNSHIP. 

Love  township  was  created  at  a  more  recent  time  yet  than  any  other.  It 
was  March  4,  1902,  that  J.  W.  Payne  made  statement  that  the  citizens  of  the 
eastern  part  of  Elwood  township  desired  to  be  set  apart  in  a  precinct  of  their 
own,  claiming  that  they  could  not  have  satisfactory  political  privileges  under  the 
old  division.  The  result  of  this  was  the  creation  of  a  new  township  that  was 
at  first  called  Vermilion  and  later,  Love  township.  This  name  was  given  the 
township  last  formed  which  occupies  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the  county, 
in  honor  of  Judge  Love,  who  at  that  time  was  judge  of  Vermilion  County. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

977.365J72H  C001 

HISTORY  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS  CH 


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